


Ichor Or Blood

by Hellowriters



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-05-18 14:21:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14854410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hellowriters/pseuds/Hellowriters
Summary: Things are about to go down when a shocking reveal is made at Camp Half Blood.





	1. Chapter I

**Ichor Or Blood**

**Chapter I**

**Disclaimer: The characters belong to Rick Riordan.**

More and more campers were gathering around them at a very fast rate. At first, they wanted to see what was going on, to see who had been injured, but gradually the looks on their faces turned from concern and curiosity to pure shock and bewilderment.

Percy was pressing with a hand on the side of his neck, where his adversary's dagger had cut him. He wanted to go to the infirmary, but the crowd growing bigger and bigger left the demigod confused and frozen in place.

The younger camper, with whom Percy had been training, was also staring at him in awe, his weapon fallen on the ground.

Something was wrong. Even an idiot could notice that, but what Percy didn't understand was what was wrong. Accidents always happened during training sessions, it was very common. And moreover, the wound was superficial. At least that's how it felt to him.

"Make room!" A familiar voice rang, and soon after, Annabeth followed by Chiron and Will Solace emerged from the tightly packed crowd.

"What the...!" Gasped the daughter of Athena in shock and clasped a hand over her mouth as soon as she saw Percy.

Chiron's eyes widened and so did Will's, but both of them held their composure.

Rapidly, panic started taking over the son of Poseidon. "What's wrong?!" He yelled at the others. "What's going on?!"

"Percy," Chiron said and carefully trotted next to him. His lips were taut and his eyes clueless. Seemingly reluctant he turned to the campers behind him and then back to the demigod. "Percy, look at your hand, at the one you're holding over the cut."

"What?" The other asked in confusion, but brought his hand from his neck in front of his eyes.

He had to blink and shake his head twice to make sure that what he was seeing was real. It was so unexpected that he didn't even know what to feel. He wasn't angry, nor scared, nor happy. Just puzzled because he couldn't comprehend what was going on.

"Wh— what's going on...?"

Annabeth, as if she'd just snapped out of a trance, appeared by his side in a flash and reached out to touch the golden liquid oozing out of Percy's wound, trickling down his arm and torso.

"I... I can't believe this..." She said, rubbing together two fingers covered in that liquid. "It's—"

"Ichor," Chiron said, taking the words right out of her mouth.

In that moment, every voice in the crowd died down. Percy felt a lump growing in his throat. He swallowed thickly.

That was ichor, coming out of his wound. _Ichor_. The blood of the gods. Of _the gods_!

Shiny liquid gold was coming out of his wound instead of the thick red blood which one would normally expect to see in an injury.

"But... it can't be!" Percy exclaimed. "I.. I don't— This is insane! I don't want it, I don't want any part in this mess, whatever it is! I don't!"

"Hey, calm down, let's not jump to conclusions and make assumptions without knowing our facts, we don't know what caused this yet," Annabeth assured him.

"Oh, but I think I know very well! The gods are toying with my—"

"Annabeth is right, Percy. You need to calm down," interrupted the centaur, squeezing the boy's shoulder.

Percy inhaled and skimmed over his friends and the crowd. "I know, I know. You're right, but I just can't help it sometimes..."

"I know, Seaweed Brain, you're not the only one," admitted the daughter of Athena.

"Will, take a look and see what you can do to heal the injury on his neck while I go and call Dionysus," instructed Chiron. "Now everyone, please go back to your activities!" He commanded the other campers. "Alexander, you're coming with us if that's alright." He turned to the young demigod who had injured Percy. The boy gulped uncomfortable, but nodded nonetheless.

By the time they reached the Big House, Percy's cut had healed completely without any medical attention.

As they entered, they found somebody already waiting for them.

* * *

 

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this!**


	2. Chapter II

**Ichor Or Blood**

**Chapter II**

_As they entered, they found somebody already waiting for them._

"Lord Poseidon," greeted Chiron with a bow of his head.

So did the other demigods except for Percy. If he thought better, that was the first time he'd seen his father on Camp's grounds.

"Dad?! What does this mean?!"

Percy leaped in front of the others to face his father, turning his head to the right to reveal dry streaks of ichor on his neck.

Looking unsure himself, Poseidon shook his head. "I don't know, Percy. Sincerely, I don't know. I came here as soon I heard your prayer."

"My what now?"

"You must've subconsciously called for your father when panicking and not realized it," explained Annabeth.

"I'm afraid you must call for a council on Mount Olympus, Lord Poseidon."

The god look thoughtful for a moment.  
"No. Chiron, you know how enraged my brothers are going to be if they find out. We cannot tell them unless we know for sure what is happening."

"So what?" retorted Percy, fixing Poseidon with his gaze. "You want to hide this from the other gods? For real? What if they know something we don't?! I mean, I'm not fond of what's happened either, but keeping it as a secret... just doesn't seem a bright idea."

The god pursed his lips and looked at his son expectedly.

"Percy is not wrong," said Chiron. "This is something too important to just sweep it under the rug."

Shaking his head, Poseidon stepped forward towards his son. Percy tensed for a moment when the god reached out to squeeze his shoulder. "Listen," Poseidon started to explain, looking his son straight in the eyes as if they were alone in that room, "I know you might think this will provoke my brothers, but Percy, please, I can't have you thrown in the middle of their—"

_BOOM!_

The room shook under the blast of an explosion. Everybody instinctively cowered down. Almost at the same time the alarm was set off, the sound of demigods blowing in conch shell horns signalling that Camp Half Blood was under attack. Percy straightened up and ran outside, the others following him. The sight that greeted him was not pleasant. Demigods were running around in panic, Thalia's tree was on fire, probably from the blast. Two campers were trying to put out the flames, while five others were helplessly fighting and trying to defend the border, but from where he stood, he couldn't see what monster had attacked them.

He didn't waste any moment and rushed to help. Halfway there, another explosion rocked the ground. In horror he witnessed the demigods near the border scream as they were engulfed by flames. Keeping on running, he pulled out Riptide and with full concentration he tried to summon a hurricane. Which he did, much effortlessly than he had expected. The water smothered the flames quickly. Percy hurried to the first camper he saw. It was Jamie, a son of Hermes, a newbie actually. He was laying on the now-sludge-covered ground, moaning in pain as half of his skin was burnt off, covered in raw blisters.

"HEY!" the son of Poseidon shouted and looked back towards the Big House. Annabeth was running towards him, followed by Chiron and some more campers dressed up in their bronze armour. His eyes fell back on the injured demigod. The only thing he could say was _everything will be alright_ , before he got up and went searching for the others.

Unfortunately, the others hadn't been that lucky.

His eyes were stinging from the smoke, and the smell of burnt flesh, wood and wet ashes didn't make him any good. Then, as he tried to look away from the bodies, he saw them. Lurking just outside of Camp's border. Waiting. There were hundreds of them. Monsters. Many he recognized, he had fought them in his past. The Minotaur, the Lernean Hydra, Kampe, chimeras, dracaenas, laestrygonians, drakons, empousas and so many others. It was a jaw-dropping sight. A feeling of dread washed over him, leaving him cold to the core.

"Hell, no," he found himself whispering.

"I've never seen this many monsters gathered together," Annabeth said, snapping Percy out of his current state. She was now by his side, gripping her dagger and overlooking the army of monsters spread in front of them. "What are we going to do? There are so many, we can't protect everyone."

Percy knew that she was right, but didn't let it show. With a slow shake of his head, he conveyed, "We have to, Wise Girl... We have to."  
"What are they waiting for, though?"

"I don't know, but when they decide to attack, we can't rely on Camp's magical border to protect us."

"We have my father here. Maybe he will help us."

The daughter of Athena stood silent.

"What?" the boy asked, furrowing his brows. "He has to help us. After all we've been through for the gods, he has to!"  
His voice held some kind of bitterness and anger.

The other demigod drew in a long breath. "Percy, your father... He left," Annabeth revealed pityingly.

His eyes snapped from the army of monsters to his girlfriend. "He did what?! That son of a—"  
The sky rumbled and Percy felt a bubble of anger burst inside him. He looked up and shouted with power, "BITCH!"

The daughter of Athena sighed deeply. "Percy..."

Just as he was about to make a witty remark, a scream pierced through the air, followed by a loud, deep roar, like that of a lion. They hastily turned around. The sound was coming from inside the camp.

"Stay here," Percy told the other. "In case the monsters decide to make a move," he added seeing the displeased look on the blonde's face.

"Take care," Annabeth told him. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Percy smiled, not convincingly, and turned around, making his way through the crowd of armored campers that were gathered behind them, and started running towards the source of the sound.

He didn't have a good feeling about it either.

Another roar slashed through the air, but this time no scream. Percy picked up the pace and hurried towards the armory, where the growl appeared to come from.

The closer he got, the more uneasy he became. It wasn't like him to feel that way, not even in the worst of the situations. He could feel his skin practically crawling by the time he reached the entrance of the depot. It was dark inside, darker then usual.

"Hello?" He called out as he stepped forward. Riptide was casting a faint glow around him, but the darkness inside seemed so thick that Percy could swear it was absorbing the light his sword was making.

His knuckles were white as he was gripping the handle of his sword so tight. He ventured forward, noticing how silent everything appeared to be. The growl had long since fainted and from outside he could hear nothing.

The shadows seemed to grow bigger, they were ominous and imposing, almost dancing around the demigod. Somehow, the darkness looked darker for a second and to Percy's relief (or not), a familiar face spurted out of thin air.

"Nico!" Percy remarked and the tension that had taken over him disappeared at once.

The younger demigod looked surprised to see Percy. He cast his eyes around, as if to see where he had shadow-traveled this time, then he fixed them on Percy.

"Hey Perce, wha—"

There was a short yelp followed by a heavy animal snuff.

"NICO!" The son of Poseidon yelled in horror as the other was snatched right before his eyes by some kind of beast. He leaped forward into the shadows, towards the heart of the armory.

Not long after, he almost tripped over something. He knew what it was, what it felt like when his feet dragged over it, almost landing him face down on the floor. He knew what it was, but he didn't want to look. He didn't want to look because he knew he would see Nico's lifeless body lying down.

But he did look. Although he would have wished he hadn't. Nico looked unrecognizable, mauled in the most a barbaric way.

"Oh, Nico," was all he could utter before he felt his voice crack.

A faint noise to his right drew his attention. Percy shot up, in a fit of rage and without seeing, he threw himself towards the sound, Riptide tight in his hand.

Just as he was expecting, he felt a warm, sewer-like smelling gust of wind –a breath–, and his sword cut through something. The beast cried a deafening, heart-wrenching roar, and Percy twisted his sword with anger and satisfaction until the monster exploded into golden dust.

The demigod breathed heavily and stood still for a second. That moment didn't last long, till realization hit in. He turned back to the spot where Nico's body was. Percy crouched down and felt an intense pressure on his chest, forcing him to let out a cry. It felt so unjust, so unexpected. It was normal for demigods to be killed, to die young, but one of his friends... One of his closest friends... It somehow felt like it wasn't even happening to him. Like he was just an audience to a very bad, grim show.

There was no time to waste though. He had to put himself together. Kill the monsters first, mourn later. He had to keep his mind focused on that.

When he stepped back outside, Percy thought for a moment that everything was a just a dream, a very bad dream.

Camp Half Blood was on fire. The monsters were inside.

He couldn't see more than just a couple of demigods struggling fight off hoards of monsters. The cabins were destroyed, probably the armory was the only construction still standing. Out of the corner of his eye, Percy spotted Annabeth battling, more like trying to resist the attacks of the minotaur and some dracaenas. Not wasting another second, he rushed over to her aid.

She threw herself under a pile of fallen, half-burnt wood planks, in an attempt to hide.

Percy charged forward with renewed strength, slicing off the heads of the two dracaenas, then turned to face his oldest foe.

The minotaur seemed to recognize him, and somehow his beastly face seemed imbued in rage.

They both charged at the same time. With agility, Percy managed to avert the minotaur's punch, rolling down behind the monster.

"Hey, asshead," Percy called. He gave the monster a smug smile, meaning that he was done playing.

It was like the beast saw red before its eyes. It stumped its feet into the ground and charged full-power, making gruesome roars that would have probably scared away almost any other demigod. But Percy knew what to do. He waited until the monster was close enough, then gathering all his power he jumped into the air, backflipped, cut the beast's head midair and landed back on the ground on one foot and one knee.

The thumping sound of the minotaur's body falling down filled Percy's veins with a victorious joy.

Sadly, that victorious joy did't last long. Percy remembered where he was and what was happening around him. Swiftly, he ran and slid under the wood planks next to Annabeth. She flinched in fear, for a moment, but then recognized her boyfriend. She had scratches and dirt on her face and bleeding wounds allover her body. One on her shoulder looked especially bad, but there was nothing they could do about it for now.

Annabeth shook her head. Her lower lip trembled and when she turned her face to Percy, she had tears in her eyes.

"Percy, they're dead! They're all dead!"

"All of them?" The other demigod asked, fearing the answer.

The daughter of Athena nodded and sniffed, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Chiron too..."

A dizziness of sorts seized Percy. He closed his eyes.

"So is Nico," the words came out of his mouth on their own. "The Nemean lion killed him."

Annabeth let out a cry in disbelief. "No, no, no!" she muttered and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I want Perssssssy Jacksssssson!" A shrill voice yelled outside.

The demigod's heart skipped a beat. "Stay here," he told Annabteh. She nodded.

He slid outside. A few yards away stood yet another monster Percy had fought and defeated. A creature with the head of a woman and the body of a snake, Echidna.

She smiled broadly at the sight of the hero, her forked tongue slithering out of her mouth.

"Get him," was all she said and at least a dozen laistrygonians jumped on him. He slashed and stabbed, and slashed and stabbed, and slashed and stabbed, but they kept coming. The more he killed, the more came to attack him.

One hit him over the face, and he could feel the iron taste of blood in his mouth. He spat it out and wiped his face with his hand, a trail of golden liquid staining his skin. Percy huffed and felt the rage building up inside of him. Just as he was about to deflect the blow of another giant, he heard Annabeth scream his name.

Spanning around in terror, he saw the daughter of Athena on the ground, under the claws of a manticore. She was struggling to break free, but the monster dug its sharp claws into her skin, making her scream out in pain.

The rest of this tragic scene unfolded in slow-motion for Percy. He dashed towards his incapacitated girlfriend, but at the same time, the manticore forcefully swung its spiky tail down.

Percy wasn't fast enough. Blood was gushing out of Annabeth's neck and the son of Poseidon could practically see the life draining out of her body until there was none left.

The demigod froze. Everything went black.

When he came back into his senses it was dark outside, but the fires after the disaster were still ablaze. There were no monsters around, but there was just enough golden dust to fill an entire stadium.

He had killed all of them.

He was the only one left standing.

No monster had made it out alive, but nor did any demigod...

It felt unreal. Percy felt unreal.

He was sitting in a pile of ashes, Annabeth's body at his feet.

He felt empty.

His eyes felt so tired. His head was feeling like it was going to burst from a headache. His entire body felt sore.

He put his head on his knees and felt himself dozing off.

A loud bang on his door woke him up.

"PERCY! OPEN UP"

He shot out of his bed to open the door. The sight of a very pissed off daughter of Athena greeted him.

"Did you steal my shampoo again?!" She venomously accused him.

Percy shook himself to chase the drowsiness away. "What?" He said with a hoarse voice. He felt dizzy and sleepy and his head was hurting so bad.

"Wait, Annabeth, I... What is going on?"

The events of the previous day flooded him. He must've been staring out at Annabeth in shock.

"Hey, Percy, are you alright? I didn't mean to be this angry, just—"

"You're alive..." Percy muttered, more to himself. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"

Soon, Annabeth was wrapped in a bear hug.

"Wow, okay, I wasn't expecting this. Are you sure you're alright?"

Percy looked happy, and confused. His sea-green looked like they were working on solving a mystery, while trying to take in the joy of the moment.

"Anyway, Seaweed Brain, I expect my shampoo back. Now, if you'd excuse me, I have a bunch of demigods waiting for me, cause I have a class to teach. Aaaand, I believe you were supposed to train the new campers today so, maybe you should stop sleeping and go out. See ya later," she said and swiftly disappeared, leaving a dumbfounded Percy behind.

Just then Nico di Angelo passed by, dragging Will after him, who was somehow strapped in a dog's leash... Nico gave Percy a don't ask smile and picked up the pace, muttering something under his breath.

"Heyo Perce," Will greeted with a dumb smile. "This is a new method, I'm teaching Nico how to be more positi—!"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, because Nico tugged on the leash and dragged the son of Apollo forward.

"Shut up!" he heard the son of Hades yell as they disappeared in the distance.

Percy had to do a double take. He remembered Annabeth saying the exact same thing. He remembered seeing Nico and Will in the exact same position. Just the day before, before the monsters, before the attack, before he found out his blood was...

Was it possible? To relive the same day...

Suddenly Percy pulled out the pen from his pants' pocket and uncapped it, Riptide growing into a beautiful bronze sword. Biting his lip, he pressed the tip of his finger on the sharp blade of the sword.

He huffed. He couldn't believe the color of the liquid oozing out of the small cut.

* * *

 

**A/N: Hey there, here's the next chapter! Thank you for all the support I got on the first chapter and hope you enjoyed this one too!**


	3. Chapter III

**Ichor Or Blood**

**Chapter III**

_He huffed. He couldn't believe the color of the liquid oozing out of the small cut._

Ruby red blood. Just as it should have been.

Percy's head was spinning as he felt hit by a major _what the fuck_. Distraught, he closed the door to his cabin and put the cap on his sword, which instantly metamorphosed back into a ballpoint pen.

It didn't make any sense. The whole situation. But then again, nothing ever really did.

Sucking in a long breath, Percy tried to make something out of what had happened... Or what he thought to have happened.

"Okay, Percy, you got this! Now..."

The demigod grimaced in annoyance and violently scratched the back of his head, all the while spinning around in circles in the middle of his cabin. He was certain that he hadn't imagined anything. There was no way, it'd felt too real. But then again, there had been cases of tricks –mind tricks– being performed on heroes before him.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't certain. He was pretty sure, though.

_But Annabeth and the shampoo... Nico walking Will in his *super weird* dog leash..._

"I need to talk to Annabeth," he told himself, nodding adamantly. " _She'll know_ what _this_ means."

* * *

 

" _I don't know_ , Percy! The kids are waiting and you know very well what happens when a dozen young, ADHD demigods are left together, unsupervised."

The words had just left her mouth when a loud BANG followed by a burst of laughter and voices erupted from behind the door to the classroom in the Big House.

Annabeth drew in a long breath and her nostrils flared. She was pissed and Percy suddenly felt sorry for the kids.

"Sorry Percy, I have to go. We can talk afterwards, alright?"

The son of Poseidon opened his mouth to say something, but she was already entering the room and shutting the door behind her.

"Yeah... We'll talk afterwards," he added for himself.

He had run from his cabin and practically dragged Annabeth out of the class, asking her if she knew anything about traveling back in time. Of course, the question itself confused and annoyed her. Percy didn't have time to explain more and now he felt that it would have been wiser to recount what had happened to him firstly.

_Maybe I should take a walk to clear my mind._

Right when he stepped on the porch of the Big House, Chiron appeared in front of him.

"Hey, Chiron."

"Percy," the centaur returned the greeting. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks." For a moment, the demigod looked contemplative. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. Is there something wrong?" Chiron asked with a little concern in his voice.

"No," Percy said a little bit too quickly, then cleared his throat.

Chiron raised an eyebrow and swished his tail.

"Um, I wanted to ask if it's possible to... to relive the same day. Or if there had been any cases in history?"

The centaur's eyebrows raised just a tad, like he wasn't expecting that kind of question. "I don't think so Percy, this sort of thing... It's too complex and it would have too many unwanted consequences. No god, or deity of any sorts has this kind of power. Not even the Fates." He squinted his eyes and with a suspicious tone continued, "Why are you asking?"

"No reason, really. Just a question. Silly question." Percy forced a laugh.

Chiron nodded slowly. "Oh, there might be one deity, though. Yes, I remember now. But that is just a myth, it could never be."

"Myth? Chiron, you are a myth! Tell me, who are you talking about?"

The centaur looked offended for a second. "It's nothing, Percy. Just someone long forgotten, someone who should stay that way. We don't talk about things like that, a name holds too much power."

It was Percy's turn to be offended. Of course, he understood the centaur's reasoning, but it felt like Chiron didn't trust him enough to talk about it.

"Don't be upset, Perseus. It just _is_ something we are not supposed to mention. Ever."

He gave the demigod a pointed look.

_Whatever_ , Percy thought. It probably was something else anyway. Maybe the Hermes kids were pulling a prank on him. One really awful, tasteless prank. _The_ _bastards..._

"Yeah, alright," he conceded.

Chiron smiled softly. "Now, I remember you agreed to show the new demigods some sword-fighting techniques, shouldn't you be already on the field?"

"Ah, I— I did," Percy said. "Well, I'm going then."

On his way to the arena, his stomach grumbled loudly and Percy remembered he had overslept and skipped breakfast. Today and in the _fantasy_ day (that's what he had decided to call it, at least until he found out what had really happened). In the _fantasy_ day, he had gone to the Hermes cabin and asked for some snacks. An idea popped in Percy's mind. Probably they had put something in them, like a potion stolen from Hecate's cabin or something, something that was now messing with his head. It was true, he'd felt indeed kind of sleepy after eating the snacks and he may have dozed of for half an hour or something.

_I must've dreamt all that... I probably still am._

He pinched the skin on his forearm.

"Ouch!"

_I'm probably passed out in a coma. Yeah, that's a reasonable explanation._

If his theory was true, then he had to find a way to wake up. Maybe he was supposed to play along till the potion's effect wore off. Or until someone found him.

The whole fiasco felt off though. Everything around him was too real, it didn't look made up. He was too real and... He didn't want to think about it, but still he did— the monsters, the fight, they had been so real. So real that Percy still felt terrified.

Shortly after, he arrived on the training ground and found the demigods waiting for him. They had already chosen a weapon and some were already attempting to fight the straw dummies, while others were just chitchatting. As soon as he showed up, everybody stopped what they were doing and fixed their eyes on him.

Among them, he spotted Alexander, the demigod who had wounded him in the fantasy day. A twelve years old, scrawny and a little bit too tall for his age, almost reaching Percy in height. You could have mistaken him for being older, but his big, innocent, black eyes and childish smile attested that. He was still sleeping in Cabin 11, haven't been claimed yet.

The boy caught Percy staring and started to uncomfortably fiddle with his dagger, casting his eyes anywhere but at the older demigod.

Shaking his head and dismissing the camper's strange reaction, the son of Poseidon moved in front of the young campers. He cleared his throat.

"Okay ladies and gents," he spoke up loud and clear. "Today we are learning how to _defend_ ourselves in a fight. The first rule you'll need to know is that there are _no rules_. Monsters are sly and tactless and would take any chance to hurt you or _kill_ you." He took a short pause more for a dramatic effect than anything else. "That's why you shouldn't give them any, therefore the _best defense is offense_. Understood?"

There were some eager nods and "yes-es".

"Alright then. I'm going to show you some tricks and techniques. I'll need one of you to come here and help me, then you'll pick a partner and practice. Now who wants to fight me?" He asked with a chuckle.

Hands flew up in the air and the kids were impatiently calling _ME, ME, ME_. Percy skimmed over the group of demigods. All of them were struggling to get Percy's attention, all except for one kid. Alexander.

_Now this is different_ , Percy thought. In the _fantasy_ day, Alexander had been overly eager to come and train with the son of Poseidon.

After a moment of brooding, he called out. "Alexander, why don't you come here?"

There were some disappointed huffs and puffs and every eye turned to look at the one whose name had been called. The kid seemed terrified. His face was as white as a paper and his eyes were round, fixed on Percy.

"Alex?" Percy asked in concern.

The younger demigod snapped out of it and got up from the pile of hay on which he had been staying, but instead of coming forward next to Percy, he went the opposite direction, leaving the training arena.

That was definitely unexpected and odd and it left Percy with a pit in his stomach.

Everybody was glancing back and forth between the son of Poseidon and the demigod who had just bailed.

"Class dismissed, we'll retake this another day," he announced and darted after the boy.

Percy reached him in no time. The younger camper gave him a brief look and continued on his way. Realizing he wasn't going to stop and talk to him, Percy adjusted his pace and walked next to the younger demigod. They strolled together in silence along Camp's border near the forest.

Everything looked so peaceful and green, the sun was so warm and the birds were singing. It made Percy feel unreal, like he was in the magic land in a fairytale. He felt bad enjoying himself that much, he knew something had happened and he knew it was partly his responsibility to figure out what.

After a while, Alexander spoke.

"I— I'm sorry I reacted that way. I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

Percy chuckled. "You didn't. Are you feeling alright though? From what I've seen so far, I thought you'd be more enthusiastic."

The demigod sighed. "Yeah, well you aren't wrong, but last night I had this strange dream, you know, how I've heard it's normal for us demigods—"

The older boy froze in place. "Wait," he interrupted. "What dream?"

Alexander furrowed his thick eyebrows. "It was so strange, it was like I was living a normal day and then I wounded you in sword practice and your blood was golden and then a bunch of monsters attacked Camp Half Blood and it was a bloodshed and I think I... I think I died and—" The demigod was steely calm, though you could read the distress and fear in his eyes. "And the funny thing is, so far today everything happened exactly like in my dream and I— I didn't want to fight you,I thought that maybe if I changed something it wouldn't come true."

With every word that spilled out of Alexander's mouth, Percy felt a knot forming in his stomach. And he didn't know if it was actually getting colder or the goosebumps raising on his skin were from a different cause.

With a shaky voice, not something he intended, he told the other demigod, "Alex, I don't think it was a dream..."

Confusion was written allover the other boy's face. "What?"

Percy wetted his lips. "I... The same thing happened to me. What you've just described there? I— I remember the exact same thing."

A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for reading and for all your support! I hope you've enjoyed this and a review would be highly appreciated :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, thanks for reading and for all your support! I hope you've enjoyed this and a review would be highly appreciated :)


	4. Chapter IV

**Ichor Or Blood**

**Chapter IV**

_Percy wetted his lips. "I... The same thing happened to me. What you've just described there? I— I remember the exact same thing."_

Fear flashed in Alexander's eyes. Percy didn't feel any less terrified.

"S—so, what does it mean?" The younger demigod asked, his voice quivering.

"I... I don't know yet," the son of Poseidon confessed. "Don't worry though, I'll figure it out."

Alexander merely nodded, one hand tugging at a bracelet on his left arm.

It wasn't like Percy had specifically looked there, but the accessory caught his attention. Or better said, the symbol it depicted caught his eye. The bracelet consisted of a black leather band with a circular silver ornament: a serpent swallowing it's own tail.

Alexander must've noticed him staring, because he immediately, more out of instinct than anything else, hid his arms behind his back.

The son of Poseidon glanced shortly in the the other's eyes then back at the arms now timidly hanging at the other's sides.

"It's uh... it's an ouroboros," Alexander said after a moment, tracing a finger over the metal trinket. "I've had it since the beginning of time," the demigod let out an unnerved laugh, "since I was born and for as long as I can remember."

Something was different about the younger one, Percy noted. Now, when he was talking about the bracelet, something he was familiar with, the boy just seemed to forget all about fear and the situation they were in.

"Do you know what it means?" Alexander asked.

Percy shook his head and a light frown of concentration flashed on his expression. He had seen it before... Somewhere.

Alexander nodded, running a hand over his butch cut hair. "It's the symbol of infinity. You see, the snake eating its own tail in an endless cycle is a metaphor for life and death— the creation and destruction, in order to live you have to die and in order to die you have to live. This is how nature works, everything has to end so something else can be born and so on. The end is the beginning and the beginning is the end..."

The demigod was explaining calmly, enthralled by his own story. At last, he let out a sigh and fell silent, waiting for Percy to say something, shyly rubbing his hand over his arm.

"That's... that's actually interesting," Percy admitted, though something was nagging at the back of his head. He had seen that symbol somewhere, but he just couldn't remember where. "How do you know all that?" He asked curiously, pushing back his thoughts.

"I um— This bracelet is all I have... I grew up on the streets, without ever knowing my parents and I guess... I guess I just had to know everything about it, you know? Since it was all I've ever had, the only constant thing in my life."

Percy nodded, feeling the younger demigod grow on him, and smiled broadly. "I know how harsh a demigod's life can be, but don't let that get the best of you. You'll find a family here, at Camp, and they will help you—"

Something made the son of Poseidon freeze. The demigod in front of him suddenly turned white, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and his limbs started to tremble lightly.

"I... I don't feel so good," Alexander managed to voice weakly.

Percy reached out and caught the demigod as he fainted, eyes rolling to the back of his head. The hero's breath had caught in his throat, eyebrows raised in shock, as he carefully placed the other one on the grass. He kneeled beside him and impulsively started slapping the other one over the face.

"Hey! Alexander, wake up!" He tried to shake the demigod awake. "Wake up! Come on!"

Not long after, he realized it was for nothing. Alexander's body was lying lifeless on the ground.

He growled in exasperation and cupped his face with his hands, digging his nails into the skin on his cheeks. His heart was hammering against his rib cage. Not knowing what else to do, he picked up the body of the younger boy and hurried towards the infirmary.

As he reached the insides of the camp, his blood turned cold. Littered across the ground were bodies over bodies of campers. The few ones left standing were running around in pure hysteria, trying to offer some aid to the fallen demigods.

"PERCY!" Came a shout from his right.

Turning his head, he spotted Annabeth running towards him. Carefully, he placed Alexander's body down, propped against some strawberry boxes.

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth panted and threw her arms around his neck, wrapping him in a hug. He hugged back. "I'm so glad you are okay, something is happening, demigods are just dropping dead!"

"I know," Percy admitted and Annabeth pulled back from the hug. His eyes were glassy and stared intimidatingly at his girlfriend.

Annabeth stepped back just a tad and looked at him from under her eyebrows. "Percy, what is going on? Today you wanted to tell me something and I—"

"It was nothing," he cut her off.

Her eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened just a bit, but almost right away her neutral expression returned and Percy could see the wheels working behind her stormy gray eyes, trying to put two and two together. "Fine," she said with a bit of acidity in her tone.

For a split second he wondered why he was being so harsh to her. It wasn't his intention, not at all. What he wanted was to hug her, hold her tight against his chest and kiss her forehead, assuring her that everything would be alright. Something in him wasn't letting him though. His veins were boiling with resentment and anger. Towards the gods. For what they had put him through. For whatever they were putting him through right then.

His eyes softened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound so rude."

"It's fine," Annabeth assured him. "Whatever you're going through, you know you can always tell me and count on me, right? I'm here for you, Seaweed Brain."

Percy's heart fluttered at the softness of her words. "I know, Wise Girls, I know..."

She smiled gently.

"WE NEED MORE HELP IN THE INFIRMARY!" The sudden plea pulled them right back into their senses. They both rushed to offer.

In the infirmary, the air was stacked and so was everything. Demigods were lying down on beds, on chairs— some even on the floor. Will, Chiron and two other campers, one daughter of Aphrodite and one son of Hermes, were darting around from one kid to another, trying to do their best against the unknown... well, death rush.

Chiron rolled up in his wheelchair to the two of them, as soon as he saw them entering the door.

Speaking in a hushed tone, he said, "Percy, Annabeth, I'm relieved to see you are alright. I'm afraid we are the only ones..."

He didn't need to finish the sentence. Even though the centaur was trying to keep his composure, Percy could see that he was way beyond worried.

"We can't be..." Annabeth acknowledged, but her eyes were wide in fear. "What could have caused this?"

Chiron shook his head. "I've never seen anything quite like this in my life..."

"Where is Mr. D?" Percy snapped suddenly, feeling the same anger return to him. His eyes were a dark green and the light hitting them made it seem as if his irises were animated, like the waves during a storm on the sea.

Chiron paused for a second. "He's been on Olympus all day with some problems..."

"I— I think I'm gonna faint," Annabeth drew in their attention and slid to the floor, leaning agains the doorframe.

Percy immediately knelt next to her and his eyes shifted to concern.

"Hey— hey, you're gonna be fine," he tried to convince himself more than to convince her, cupping her face in his hands. "You're going to be fine, Annabeth, just stay with me, okay? Don't close your eyes— hey," he shook her head, "Just don't close your eyes..."

She smiled faintly and managed a weak _I won't..._

Tears welled up in the Percy's eyes. He couldn't bear to see her die... Again.

"Chiron—"

As he turned to face the centaur, he noted that his head was hanging on a side, eyes white, rolled back. Percy glanced around in panic. No one was left standing. Out of the blue, he felt hit by a strong dizziness —just like the one you experience when you get too quickly out of bed in the morning— and his vision got blurry.

"P—percy," Annabeth whispered, beads of sweat running down her forehead.

"Shh, don't try to talk," the son of Poseidon stopped her.

"Mhm, n—no, Percy listen...y—you're... bleeding..."

Instinctively, he wiped his nose and indeed, he was bleeding. He half-lidded stared at his gold stained hand and gulped.

"It's go—gold..." the daughter of Athena stated.

A wave of heat washed over Percy and the dizziness became stronger, forcing him to lean back against something.

"I—it's g—gold..."

Gradually his vision started getting darker and darker until he could see nothing else and was only aware of his shallow breathing. Then everything went black.

A loud bang on his door woke him up.

"PERCY! OPEN UP"

He shot out of his bed to open the door. The sight of a very pissed off daughter of Athena greeted him.

"Did you steal my shampoo again?!" She venomously accused him.

"What the—"

He put a hand in front of his eyes to block the strong shine of the morning sun. His brain was pulsating and he grunted in pain as he slowly started coming back into his senses and to remember what had happened...

"Hey, Percy, are you alright? I didn't mean to be this angry, just—"

She was cut off by Percy wrapping her in a hug.

"Wow, that's— that's a little too tight," she cawed as Percy didn't seem close to letting go of the hug.

He only hugged her tighter at the sound of her words. "I'm just so happy to see you..." He drawled.

As they parted, Annabeth was smiling and watching him with wide, amused eyes.

"I'm happy to see you too, Percy... Anyway, Seaweed Brain, I expect my shampoo back. Now, if you'd excuse me, I have a bunch of demigods waiting for me, cause I have a class to teach. Aaaand, I believe you were supposed to train the new campers today so maybe you should stop sleeping and go out. See ya later."

With that said, she was gone.

Just then Nico di Angelo passed by, dragging Will after him, who was somehow strapped in a dog's leash... Nico gave Percy a don't ask smile and picked up the pace, muttering something under his breath.

"Heyo Perce," Will greeted with a dumb smile. "This is a new method, I'm teaching Nico how to be more positi—!"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, because Nico tugged on the leash and dragged the son of Apollo forward.

"Shut up!" he heard the son of Hades yell as they disappeared in the distance.

Percy stood there, in his doorframe and laughed. A light chuckle at first, which gradually turned into a wholehearted laughter, which slowly turned hysteric. He laughed hard. He laughed until he was shaking uncontrollably. He laughed because what else could it be other than a joke? The gods were a joke and now they were trying to turn him into one too. He laughed, stopped for a moment, then laughed some more.

The campers passing by his cabin were eying him in confusion. When he finally stopped cackling, there were tears in his eyes. But they weren't tears of joy.

Percy thought about what he could do and his eyes lit up. _He was going on Olympus..._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your support! It means a lot!


	5. Chapter V

**Ichor Or Blood**

**Chapter V**

_Percy thought about what he could do and his eyes lit up. He was going on Olympus..._

* * *

 

"Just—" Percy's nostrils flared and he balled his fist. He breathed in and exhaled, trying to calm his nerves. "Just listen!"

Sparks were flying around Zeus. The god was sitting on the edge of his throne, one hand gripping the lighting-bolt Percy had retrieved for him on his first quest years ago. "No," the deity growled. "These accusations?! Preposterous! I won't hear any of it!"

Percy's gaze was dark and his body was almost shaking with anger. The other gods present in the Throne Room were watching the argument unfold. They appeared calm, but their eyes were darting fearfully from the demigod to the their king, their bodies were tense, ready for things to go downhill at any point.

"Listen here, you godly piece of garbage," the demigod lividly pointed a finger at Zeus. There were some loud gasps around the room and the god literally jumped to his feet pointing his godly weapon at Percy. The air around them was filled with electricity, the hairs raising on Percy's skin.

Alexander, who had come with Percy to meet the gods, was rethinking his hiding spot from behind the older demigod.

"What was that?" Zeus demanded, his voice booming.

"Exactly what you heard."

"Percy..." Came a faint warning from Poseidon. The demigod ignored it.

"Do you think I like this?! Being put in this position?!" The hero spat, his expression contorted in a scowl. "And for who exactly?!" An angry laugh escaped his mouth. "Tell me? For who exactly?!" He extended his arms and cast his eyes around the room at the other deities. "For them? For you?!" He shook his head. "I want you to know... The wars, me fighting on your side... I did it all for the demigods, not for you." He paused. "Not for you."

The room was silent. Percy could almost hear his heart beating.

He swallowed thickly. "I... I get why Luke did what he did. Why he turned. No matter what we do, no matter how many of _your_ children die... You never learn, you never listen."

For a moment no one dared say anything.

"I think it would be wise to... consider what Percy is trying to tell us." Came a strained suggestion from Athena.

The other Olympians agreed.

The king of the gods exhaled sharply and sat back on his throne. "Vey well. But no more of these absurd insults will be allowed."

Finally, Percy thought in disbelief. He wouldn't have believed that the gods could ever be so ignorant. Especially after what had happened in the past years.

"Thank you," the son of Poseidon smiled artificially. "Now, like I was saying before I was interrupted... Alexander and I," he stepped aside to reveal the demigod hidden behind him, "we've been going through some unusual stuff lately. I don't— I don't know what it is or who's fault is it, I just..." He closed his eyes tightly. "I just want it not to be me, for this once... I don't want to play any part in your games or, or in anything at all. I've done my part, I fought two wars! Two wars! Just— Just give me a break..."

His throat was clenched. There. He said it. For once, he didn't want to be in the middle of the gods' affairs. Just for once he wanted to focus on school, on his mother, on his friends... On his own life.

"What exactly are you saying?" The god of the skies inquired.

Percy looked down at his hand, slowly closing his fist. "I'm not sure..."

The king of the gods snorted. "If even you, kid, don't know what this is about, then why are you wasting our time with it?"

"I thought you had said something about an anomaly at Camp?" Poseidon cut in quickly.

Nodding his head, the demigod answered. "Something like that. I will explain soon, but I need to know first..."

He pulled Riptide out of his jeans' pocket. The gods were curiously observing him as he uncapped the pen, which instantly grew into a full-sized bronze sword.

The demigod locked eyes with Zeus. The god would never admit it that this demigod, this particular demigod, daunted him more than anything he had ever encountered. And that said it all.

"I need to know," the son of Poseidon repeated. "I need to know what this means—"

Just like that, he gripped the sword's blade. Wincing as pulled his hand up along the sharpened edge of the weapon, he cut deep in his palm. Secretly, Percy didn't know if it would work. One side of him hoped it wouldn't, but there was also the side which wanted to show the gods what they were putting him through, to prove them...

Facing sideways, he lowered the arm with the sword and raised the other, the palm with the fresh cut facing the gods. He could feel the wound throbbing and the blood running down his arm.

Zeus choked.

A surprised murmur erupted among the others.

"Now this sure as Hades is an anomaly," joked Hermes. Apollo snorted.

"Impossible..." Zeus remarked in disbelief.

"Son, you—"

"Are bleeding gold?" Percy interrupted sarcastically. "Yeah, I know."

"But how?"

The demigod shrugged. "You tell me. It's always you who mess with our lives. It wouldn't be a first," he accused, briefly squinting his eyes at Hera, who was too shocked by the reveal to feel offended.

"This isn't us. Not this time," Poseidon argued.

"And there's one more thing," Percy added. "Somehow, somehow Alexander and I have been reliving the same day over and over. And... And it always ends the same, with everyone at camp... dead."

The god of the seas frowned. Zeus was still stunned, muttering impossible over and over.

"No. If something like that was to happen we would have known."

Percy shrugged again. "Well somehow it's happening."

"I can vouch for that," Alexander added.

The gods looked at him as if it was the first time they were acknowledging his presence in the room.

"And who is he again?" Zeus asked, returning into the conversation.

"He is a camper, Alexander. He hasn't been claimed yet." Percy emphasized the last part with bitterness. "He remembers the events from camp just like me."

The gods exchanged a few glances.

"What?" Percy asked, knitting his eyebrows. "What is it?"

Poseidon shook his head. "It's nothing."

"I don't believe—"

"As my brother has already stated: it is nothing," punctuated the Zeus, glaring at the demigod.

Percy heaved a sigh. "If you say so..."

The god of the skies looked down at the hero from his throne. For a moment, he seemed as if he was pondering his choices.

"It's called a paradox."

All the eyes darted towards the far end of the throne room, at the goddess tending the hearth. Hestia was fixing Percy with her gaze.

After realizing no one was saying anything, she continued, "A paradox is not a curse, but it should be treated like one. Once you are touched by one, you'll bear it forever. The paradox keeps what it wants." She paused. "Or so I've heard."

* * *

 

A loud bang on his door woke him up.

"PERCY! OPEN UP"

He didn't get up to answer. Instead, he buried his head under the pillow and waited. For a moment the son of Poseidon lied still, holding his breath, until he heard his girlfriend stump away. He growled in exasperation.

_Thirty eight_.

_Thirty eight_ days since hell had broken loose.

_Thirty eight_ times he had relieved the same day.

_Thirty eight_ ways he had seen his friends die.

He was a ghost. The ghost of what has been and what could never be. He told himself that he wasn't trying hard enough, but in truth he feared he had tried it all. He feared that there was no going back, that his friends would always be stuck in the same loop and _they were like robots_! Unbearable. It was mechanical, how they were repeating the same phrases, the same actions over and over and it was driving Percy insane. The monotony was driving him insane. Maybe even more than having to watch his friends die...

Alexander wasn't of much help either. All he did was stay by Percy's side and remind him that " _there's no way_ ", " _we are stuck here forever_ ", " _we should start gambling on how we'll die tonight_ " and other things that made the son of Poseidon curse his life even more. The past ten times he had totally ignored the boy who, despite starting as a fairly innocent kid, was slowly getting under Percy's skin. The older demigod needed a break.

The worst part was that the loop didn't limit itself to camp's grounds. It was happening everywhere. _On Olympus_ — he had been there three times already, arguing the same points and leaving the gods baffled as he stole the words right out of their mouths, _at his mom's apartment_ — where he had tried to escape, but his mother had stopped feeling like a mother after the first loop day, gaining the same robotic feel to her, just like everyone affected, _at Camp Jupiter, everywhere._

_A freaking paradox. Whatever the heck that should even mean_ , he thought.

But then, something happened.

As Percy was lying around in his cabin, waiting for another day to be over, an unexpected knock on the door startled him. His eyes shot up from the journal he had been writing ( _as a method to keep his sanity, Percy had decided to write down his adventures as a demigod in a journal; maybe someone would find his story one day; maybe if he couldn't make it out of the loop, at least his story would_ ).

The knock persisted. Percy slowly got up and headed for the door, ready to swing it open. It was nightfall outside. The campers must have already died. But there it was, someone forcefully banging on his door. With reluctance, the son of Poseidon pressed the handle and cracked the door open.

He squinted at the man standing in front of him.

"Father?" He asked, taking in the unusual physical aspect of the god of the seas. Poseidon had the same brooding look and sea-green eyes, but he was wearing jeans and a gray sweatshirt, the polar opposite of his usual Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian T-shirt. There was also the fact that he was looking way younger, like waaay younger... And so much more tired, dark circles surrounding his eyes which now appeared sunken in his skull.

The one at the door smiled indolently at the demigod' question. "No."

"Eh?" Percy uttered confused.

"I'm not your father, Percy."

If possible, the son of Poseidon looked even more puzzled.

Drawling out the words as an amused fire danced in the man's sea-green eyes, he said, " _I'm you. I'm Percy Jackson_."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm so happy I finally updated. Phew. I have some exams this week and the next one, which is why I didn't believe I would be able to update, but here it is... yay! I want to apologize if this chapter seems a bit sloppy, but I am very tired and I guess this is the best I could do. I would very much appreciate some reviews and some feedback on how you think the story is going so far. Is it any good? And a huuuuge thank you to everyone how has added this story to their follow/favorite list and to those lovely reviewers who made my day with their words of encouragement. Thank you!


	6. Chapter VI

 

**Ichor or Blood**

**Chapter VI**

_Drawling out the words as an amused fire danced in the man's sea-green eyes, he said, "I'm you. I'm Percy Jackson."_

"No, you're not," argued Percy.

The other one smiled crookedly, thought it didn't reach his eyes. "I know this seems impossible, but… you need to hear me out."

Still not convinced, the son of Poseidon stepped aside and let his counterpart enter the cabin. When the view through the doorframe was no longer obstructed by the other person, Percy took the chance to peek outside as he was closing the door. What he saw didn't surprise him, but left him with a hollow feeling in his chest. Camp was deserted. There was no trace of life, all the lights were out. He knew what it meant.

"Alright," Percy spoke, leaning against the door, once it was closed. "Explain."

His lookalike sighed and stepped next to one of the bunkbeds, gripping its metal frame.

"This is weird," he laughed and shook his head. "I… I don't know what to begin with."

"Maybe with the part where you said you're Percy Jackson?" suggested Percy.

The other one huffed amused. "Yeah, I think you're right." He rubbed the back of his neck and took a deep breath. "I don't know how to say this so that it doesn't sound as crazy as it is, but... it's true. I'm you. I'm you from three years in the future."

Confusion crossed the son of Poseidon's face. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but he found himself at a loss of words.

"I know, it's kinda shocking for me too. I didn't expect it to work, even though I should've..."

"But... how? It's impossible," attested Percy.

His future self appeared as though he wanted to say something, but stopped himself. He let out a resigned breath. "Come on, Percy. With everything that's going on and you think _this_ is impossible? _Pfft_. I don't condemn you. I used to believe the same thing."

"Wait, so you're saying... you met yourself, er, I mean myself... I mean—"

"Yes, I did," future Percy chuckled. "I used to stand exactly where you're standing. I remember... I remember the confusion and the resentment. Percy, I know you're angry... but I'm here to help you."

The whole situation was freaky. Percy felt like his skin was crawling. Everything felt so out of place.

"Alright. Lets say that I believe you, which is weird because I would have thought that believing yourself would come as an easy thing to do, apparently not though, yeah..." He shook his head. "So let's say that I believe you... How do I know you're not another trick? Another pawn in this stupid mess?"

"You don't. There's nothing I can do to make you trust me. I remember I didn't trust myself either, but... look where that got me. I know now that I should've listened, that's why I'm begging you, Percy, I'm begging you to have faith in what I'm about to say."

"What do you mean _where that got you_?"

Future Percy looked at the floor, averting his counterpart's eyes.

"I... I never got out of the loop. I was stuck." His face contorted in a grimace of anger. "I can't even describe the horrors, how I thought that I was loosing my mind... I did, for a while. And Percy, the things I had to do to get here..."

Dread washed over the younger demigod. "You never got out..." His mouth was dry all of a sudden. "W-what did you do?"

"No. You'd never forgive me if I told you."

"And how exactly would you expect me to trust you if you keep things like that hidden from me?!"

The other one rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Please, Percy! You have to... You have to."

"Why are you here then?! Tell me, if you never got out, why are you here? Huh? What could you possibly do to help me?"

"I... I know it's too late for me, but you... You still have time. You still have time to find a way out. And I know how to do it."

"You do?"

The other one nodded shortly. "But you have to trust me, Percy. I remember that I didn't trust myself and that... that was my biggest mistake."

The prospect of finding an exit out of the torturous loop gripped the son of Poseidon like claw. He _needed_ to find a way out.

"Alright. Tell me what we have to do."

"We have to..." He paused for a moment. "We have to kill Alexander."

It took Percy exactly seven seconds to register the words the other one had just said.

"What...?"

Future Percy let out a frustrated laugh. "I know what you're thinking, but if you'd just let me ex—"

"No!" Percy cut him off angrily.

"LISTEN TO ME!"

Percy closed his mouth shut at the other's outburst. His future self was breathing heavily and looking him straight in the eyes with a furious gaze.

After a moment or two, his voice was still ringing in Percy's ears. The son of Poseidon had never believed others when they used to say that they never wanted to be in front of an enraged Percy. His eyes were intimidating and all he wanted to do was cower away. Nevertheless, he kept his stance.

"Listen to me, Percy!" The other started on a much softer tone. "I used to be you, I know what you're thinking... And look, look at me! Look where it got me!"

"But... why Alexander? And why kill him?!"

"Because," older Percy wetted his lips, "he's the reason we're here in the first place."

"What... why?"

The older demigod shook his head. "I can't tell you. All I have to say is that we need to kill him now, before he realizes who he is."

" _Who he is_? What are you talking about?! And if I understood your words correctly, then Alex has no idea that he is doing what he is doing..."

"No, he doesn't," the other one confirmed. "That is why we have to do it now!"

It made a little bit of sense to Percy. After all, Alexander was the only one who knew and remembered that they were stuck in that loop. But killing him...

"No! We can't kill him. If he's innocent, I can't do it. We can't kill him. And besides... He's kind of already dead at the moment"

Groaning in irritation, future Percy reached into his pocket and pulled something out, then tossed it to Percy. He caught it and recognized it as Alexander's bracelet... the Ouroboros. The son of Poseidon looked at his other self in confusion.

"You have to understand that Alexander is dangerous. I can't tell you who he really is because I fear that saying his _real_ name might awaken his true self. What I _can_ tell you though, is that me not trusting what my future self said is what brought us in this situation. I... I didn't want to kill him either, just like you, but it ended up badly... Alex realized who he really is and he— he cursed us. Actually, he cursed us a loooong time ago, before we were even born—"

"How is that even possible...?"

Ignoring the other's question, future Percy continued. "My point is that if we don't kill him now, we'll be stuck in the loop forever while Alex— No. Better not to think about it."

"While Alex what? C'mon, just tell me..."

Future Percy took a deep breath and smiled sorrowfully. "It doesn't matter. Now I need to know, will you help me?"

"Help you kill him?"

"Yes."

"I..."

A cold fist closed over Percy's heart. He wanted so much to get out of the loop, to go back to normal, to trust what his future self was saying, but killing Alex? He was just a kid, abandoned, he had nobody... And if he didn't know who he was yet, maybe... maybe there was a chance to convince him, maybe he wasn't evil, maybe they could turn him on their side and, and...

"No." Percy's expression hardened. "We're not going to kill him. There has to be another way."

Future Percy balled his fist and punched the wall behind him. "Dammit, Percy! Dammit!"

"I'm sorry, I can't... I can't kill an innocent kid. And you know very well that that's what he is right now."

The other one furiously shook his head. "No. I really don't. Didn't you hear a word of what I've just told you?! This story has no happy ending, Percy! It doesn't. I would know... I lived it."

"But... maybe there's something you did wrong. Something—"

"I know what my future self did. I know what he did wrong, and that is not trying hard enough to convince me to help him."

"Why do you even need my help anyway?! And didn't I already tell you that Alex is kind of dead right now?!"

"I need your help because that's the only way we can kill him... Only if we do it together. And we're in a loop, remember? Alex is going to be here tomorrow when we wake up. I'm going to be here as well."

Percy seemed to ponder what his future self had said.

"I'm not going to help you. We're are not killing an innocent kid."

"Don't you understand?! Alex is hardly innocent, he's the reason we're here in the first place and he's going to—" Future Percy caught himself before he finished what he wanted to say. "This is our only chance to stop something inevitable from happening."

"If he isn't so innocent, then why wouldn't you tell me who he is?! I'd rather be stuck in here forever than live with the blood of a kid on my hands."

"FINE!" the other one yelled in frustration. "Fine! We'll try it your way. We'll try to find a way out of this together, but you'll see... You'll see that I'm right. That killing Alexander is the only way out."

* * *

A loud bang on his door woke him up.

"PERCY! OPEN UP"

He groaned and pulled the covers over his face, ignoring his girlfriend. Something was nagging in the back of his mind. He remembered meeting... He shot up, his eyes round, as soon as he realized what had happened the other day. He rubbed his hands over his face, then turned to look on one of the bunkbed, where his future self lay awake, hands crossed under his head.

No one said anything until they heard Annabeth stomp away in frustration.

"So.." Percy drawled, his voice still sleepy.

"It wasn't a dream," his future self laughed. "I know, its odd."

"Very odd," agreed Percy. "Now... What now?"

"Well," said the other one, jumping out of the bed with a smile on his face, "I think it's time we went out."

"Um, don't you think it'd be a problem if the whole camp saw you...?"

"Nah, not really. I mean, they won't remember me by tomorrow anyway, so... Yeah, you get my point."

Something mischievous was gleaming in future Percy's eyes. Something that sent chills down present Percy's spine, but he chose to ignore it and blame it on the fact that he was literally face to face with his version from the future. _I mean... it's pretty dam weird, isn't it?_

"Alright then, let's head out."

Once they were outside, they decided to head straight to the dining pavilion and grab some lunch. With every step they took, there was a bunch of campers who stopped and stared at the two Percys in bewilderment. It made the the son of Poseidon uncomfortable, though seeing his other self appear as calm as always made him loosen up a bit. After all, what could go wrong.

A lot apparently. Because once they reached the dinning pavilion, word that there were seemingly two Percys walking around had spread all around Camp.

"How... how is this possible?" Annabeth kept shaking her head and closing her eyes, as if she expected one Percy to disappear at any moment.

Future Percy laughed. "It's not. Now, please, let us sit down."

With that said, future Percy pushed past her, bumping her shoulder to make himself some space. That sent a wave of anger through the son of Poseidon.

"Sorry, Wise Girl," he told his girlfriend apologetically, then turned to glare at his other self. _He was such a jerk_. "What is your problem?!"

The other one just shrugged. "Three years of this—" He made an elaborate hand gesture. "It changes you."

Annabeth was too stunned by the presence of two Percys to care about what had just happened. She blinked confused.

"Three years of what?" she asked.

"It doesn't ma—"

Percy's explanation was cut short by the arrival of Alexander. The kid glanced confused between Percy and... Percy.

"Why are there two of you...?"

Just as he was about to answer, the son of Poseidon was interrupted by his future self appearing by his side. Future Percy's face was contorted in fury, his eyes fixed on Alexander.

"Hey what are you—"

"I'm sorry, Percy, but it's the only way..."

Having no time to react, the son of Poseidon found himself in the grip of his future self, who stuck a hand in present Percy's pocket and pulled out Riptide.

"Your sword is all I needed."

With a flick of his hand, his future self sent everyone flying backwards, slamming them into the tables.

The son of Poseidon staggered to his feet, a bit dizzy from the impact, just in time to see future Percy raise his sword at Alexander. His eyes widened in realization of what was about to happen, then out of reflex, he thrust his hand forward and with a power he'd never felt before, knocked the sword out of his other self's grip. With his mind.

It was enough to distract future Percy's attention for a second, in which Alexander ducked under one of the tables.

"I see you've learned how to control your godly powers... It doesn't matter anyway. Just step aside, Percy. It'll be over quickly. I don't want to hurt you."

"You know I can't do that."

Future Percy closed his eyes, then smiled sadly. "I know. I'm sorry then, if I fail... I hope you'll be luckier than me."

With that said, he charged after Riptide. Present Percy took that opportunity to jump between him and the table under which Alexander was hiding.

"Alex," Percy announced, "get out of here. I'll try to hold him off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Sorry for the late update, but I had some important exams this week so, yeah... On a happier note, I'm done with exams for a while so I'll try to focus more on updating my stories.
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter. If you did, I'd gladly want to read your thoughts about it in a review. Thanks in anticipation and also a huge thank you to those of you who have left kudos, bookmarked, subscribed to the story and reviewed. You're awesome, guys and gals!


	7. Chapter VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to call future Percy by the name of Perseus at the suggestion of one of my readers.

**Ichor or Blood**

**Chapter VII**

_"Alex," Percy announced, "get out of here. I'll try to hold him off."_

At his words, the younger demigod sprinted out of the dining pavilion. Percy didn't move. He stood like a wall between Camp and his other self.

"You said we were going to try another way!" he spat, eyes narrowed at the one in front of him.

Perseus tightened his grip around Riptide, having managed to pick it up from the ground. "Well... I lied."

Something clawed at the inside of Percy's chest and he felt the sudden urge to punch himself (uh, other self) in the face. "You! You are a terrible person! I would never!"

"It's not that complicated, Percy. You'll see. You'll change," his future self talked with an unsettling calmness. "That, of course, if I fail and you'll live to become what I am now."

Percy shook his head. "No, you're wrong. You... I'm nothing like you, nothing!"

"Not yet," Perseus paused. "And I don't wish for you to become this way. So that's why I'm begging you, one last time, to listen to me, to help me kill that mons—"

The word froze on his lips. A look of surprise appeared on his as he collapsed to the ground. Percy watched with wide eyes as Annabeth stood behind the passed out body of the guy, holding a frying pan.

"Did you... did you just hit me with a frying pan?" Percy asked in shock and bewilderment.

Annabeth's eyes were round, glued on the Percy collapsed at her feet, as she slowly bobbed her head. "I think I did that," she said in amazement.

Percy was about to protest, when Annabeth started talking again. "We should tie him to a chair."

"Yeah," the son of Poseidon agreed. "Good idea."

* * *

About half an hour had passed when Perseus started to regain consciousness. Percy was watching him, head propped on his hand at the billiard table in the Big House.

"Wh—what the..." the captive groaned, blinked a couple of times and tried to bring a hand to his head, but found his arms tied behind his back. He was lying down on a couch, facing in Percy's direction.

"Don't bother trying to untie yourself," sighed Percy with boredom. "The ropes are enchanted. I know about your godly powers or whatever they are."

"Ugh," the other one grumbled. "I feel like my head's been stomped on by a herd of raging bulls."

Letting out an amused huff, Percy cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, I guess you could say that..."

"IS HE AWAKE YET?" Will Solace shouted from the porch.

A look of horror spread over Perseus' face.

"YEAH," the son of Poseidon responded, frowning at the other's reaction.

"'KAY. BE THERE IN A SECOND TO CHECK ON HIM."

"What's up with you?" Percy asked.

His counterpart gulped and closed his eyes. "You... you told them about me."

"Um, yeah?" Percy's frown became even deeper. "It's not like you were shying away from people seeing you this morning..."

"No, not that, I mean... You told them the whole story..." His voice dripped with hopelessness.

"It's not like that are going to remember it tomorrow anyway," the son of Poseidon shrugged. "So I don't see the problem...?"

"If you already told them the deal with me and Alexander, it's too late, I have no more time. This happened before... Back then I used to be in your place." Perseus inhaled deeply, as if he was trying to make peace with something. "Perhaps I should've told you before, despite..." He shook his head, glancing defeatedly around the room. "It's too late now."

"What's too late? And tell me what?" Percy was starting to grow agitated, sitting upright in his chair, shoulders tense.

The room was silent for a moment.

"I failed."

"What?"

"If you told them, then... he already knows."

At the same time, Will Solace barged in thorough the door.

"We found Alex, but something is happening," the son of Apollo sounded desperate. "Come, quickly!"

For a moment, Percy met his own gaze and realized what was about to happen. He shot up from his seat and rushed over to untie his other self, giving him a pointed look, then, together, they followed the blond outside.

A terrible feeling enveloped the son of Poseidon as they walked. He didn't know what Alex was, but suddenly all the words that his future self had told him flooded his mind. Alexander, or whatever he was, had cursed him, he had put him in the loop, he had forced him to watch his friends die over and over... And Perseus, he had seemed so scared about something Alex was going to do... Percy wondered... Was Alex really that innocent? Had he made a mistake not listening to himself?

 _I failed..._ the words resonated in his head. Did it mean that he was going to go back in time and try to change his fate?

A shiver ran down his spine and he swallowed thickly. That was not something he wanted to think about in that moment. Maybe there was still time.

They arrived behind a crowd of campers on the beach. Barely managing to squeeze through them, the three demigods emerged on the other side, next to Annabeth, Chiron and Nico.

Perseus' face turned sheet white. "Get everyone out of here! Fast," he ordered alarmed.

A confused roar erupted among the campers at the sight of two identical sons of Poseidon.

Percy's eyes, just like everyone else's, were glued on the glowing form of the boy in front of them. Alex was laying on the ground, seemingly unconscious, while his body was becoming brighter and brighter.

"NOW I SAID, BACK OFF EVERYONE!" Perseus yelled again. This time, the campers obeyed, reacting to his intimidating voice. "SEARCH FOR SOMEPLACE TO HIDE, WE'RE ABOUT TO BLOW UP!"

"What do you mean?" asked Percy, as if snapping out of a trance.

"I think he means that Alex is going to explode," intervened Nico.

Chiron was looking at the glowing boy in controlled horror, making some wards with his hands.

"We should help him," said Will.

"I think we should get out of here," suggested Nico, the corners of his mouth turned downwards.

"I think Nico is right," added Annabeth.

"Chiron?" Percy asked, unsettled by the centaur's silence.

"Nico," Perseus called, "shadow travel yourself out of here. Take the others with you."

The son of Hades nodded, one hand touching the centaur's side, while the other one intertwined with his boyfriend's.

"Annabeth, grab Will's hand," said Percy.

She knitted her eyebrows, taking a step away from the son of Apollo. "What about you?"

Percy glanced over to Will, then smiled sadly and reached out to take her hand. Once they were touching, she reached out to grab the blond's hand, only to have the blond grasp her arm. Percy jerked his hand out of her grip. Her face contorted in panic as she tried to wriggle free.

"Now Nico," ordered Perseus. The son of Hades nodded.

"NO—" Annabeth started, but in an instant the shadows wrapped around them and they were gone.

Percy swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and turned to look at his other self.

"Now what?"

The words had barely left his mouth when the air around Alexander started to brighten. It was a gradual crescendo of light, up to the point it became blinding. Percy had to close his eyes, at the same time shielding his face with an arm. Even then, it felt like his retinas were being burnt off. An immense pressure was building up in his ears. His head felt like it was on the verge of exploding.

For a second, the world went still. Then it happened. All the energy that had gathered around Alex blew up. The two demigods, as well as everything in their proximity, were knocked off their feet, the sheer force of the blast pushing everything flat on the ground. The air swished out of Percy's lungs as he collapsed unconscious.

In the few happy moments in which Percy was passed out on the ground, he dreamt that he was being crushed to his death by a huge serpent. He snapped back into reality with a loud gasp, only to find himself unable to move, as if he was constricted by a pair invisible arms. His eyes darted around in panic.

Next to him, his lookalike still lay unconscious. He noticed that the blast had thrown them a few yards away from where they had originally been. By some kind of miracle, both of them were still in one piece, with just a few bruises and scratches here and there.

Then, he saw _it_.

In the place Alex had been, was now a crater going a few feet deep and in its center was... Percy had to close his eyes, feeling just as if he was suffering from vertigo, then tried to open them again. It was hard to focus on _it_... on it's shapeless, yet defined form... on it's static, yet alive composition. _It_ was unlike anything Percy had ever seen. The closest thing he could compare _it_ two was the image of a black hole he had seen one time in a documentary on TV.

Slowly, though, Percy felt like _it_ was getting more and more grounded. It's shape twisting and it's core morphing, it was mesmerizing, but giving the son of Poseidon a terrible headache and nausea. He had to close his eyes.

"Ugh, what's going on..." groaned Perseus next to him, trying once again to bring a hand to his head, only to find himself, once again, being restrained. He struggled for a moment to break loose.

Percy glanced at him, just at the instant when what had happened downed on Perseus. His eyes widened in shock and his breath hitched.

"You!" he snarled, his face turning into a scowl.

Following his gaze, Percy realized that _the thing_ had disappeared. In its place stood now a familiar face, Alex. The demigod looked pretty much the same, except for the fact that time and matter seemed frozen around him and you could practically see power emanating from him. It was so strong that Percy could feel it vibrating through his bones.

Alex smiled, not moving from his place. "I must say thank you," he spoke, but the voice wasn't Alexander's. No. This voice was so rich and powerful and calm and Percy felt it in his brain and if he couldn't have seen the demigod's lips moving, he would have sworn it was in his head.

"You freed me, I am grateful," he continued.

"You're not Alex," Percy found himself blurting out.

Perseus turned to him as if to say _no shit, Sherlock_. "He isn't Alex, he is..."

"Chaos," not-Alex completed.

Percy felt as if he'd missed the joke at a party. "You mean chaos as in... capital 'C' Chaos...? As in creator of the universe Chaos?"

"That's right Percy," the deity confirmed.

A perplexed look spread over the demigod's face. "I don't understand anything..."

Chaos laughed and Perseus looked on the point of exploding.

"Don't you understand?!" his counterpart fumed. "Chaos had been in a slumber for eons, randomly getting reborn into mortal bodies, like Alex, and now because you didn't listen to me he's free!"

"So now it's my fault?!" Percy barked right back. "How the Hades was I supposed to know if you didn't tell me?!"

"How was I supposed to tell you?! And risk awakening him?!" Perseus argued.

The son of Poseidon groaned exasperated. "He seems pretty awake to me anyway, you—"

"Enough," the rich voice of the deity cut them off. "I am sorry I had to put you through the loop, but it was the only way."

"The only way to what?" asked Percy.

"The only way for me to revive, of course. Don't you remember my symbol, Percy?"

The demigod's mind jumped immediately at the Ouroboros.

"So you remember, the snake eating its own tail, forming an endless circle... That is me, Percy. That is the universe. I am simultaneously at its beginning and at its end. I know how it's born and I know how it dies. This," he gestured at their surroundings, "us here, us now, it's just how things ought to be. You were cursed from _the beginning_ , Percy. It's the natural order of things."

"I..." Percy opened his mouth, but his mind was still processing the deity's words.

"Don't listen to him!" Perseus spat. "He's wrong, things aren't meant to be like this! They can't be like this!"

"You already know your fate, Perseus," Chaos exclaimed. "You know his fate as well, it's the same as yours... He can't change it, just like you couldn't change yours."

"No, he can. He must!" he said in denial, then turned his head to look in Percy's eyes. "You have to!"

"Two parallel lines met each other, both of them going in the same direction," Chaos laughed.

"I have... to what?" Percy finally said, a deep frown marring his face.

"You have to change how this story ends, Percy. It's in your hands now," Perseus said quickly, then with a resigned look he added, "I lied to you. Tomorrow you're not going to be in the loop anymore. Chaos is going to kill me now and then he is going to kill... _her_ ," he choked on the last word. "You have to go back and stop him, Percy. You have—"

The air was sucked out of Perseus' lungs and his mouth sealed shut. An ice cold shiver ran through Percy from head to toe, a writhing bundle of nerves installing in his guts. The demigod turned his horrified eyes to Chaos.

"He is telling the truth," the primordial affirmed. "I am going to do exactly what he said and you are going to do exactly what he said and then, we'll meet again... and again, and again and we're going to meet _forever_ , because, remember, the Ouroboros is infinite, _I am infinite_ , _you are infinite_."

With that said, Chaos snapped his fingers and Perseus' body disappeared in a mist of particles.

Percy's heart was racing like a Formula One car as he struggled to break free, but the invisible force just kept him still. Then he remembered they were on a beach, next to the a sea. Percy closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. He tried to feel the water but... something was blocking his way, he could not reach to it.

"Your powers don't work right now, Percy. I am truly sorry for the way things are, but you'll understand. One day you'll look back on my actions and see that they do not lack reason. T _here is order in chaos and chaos is poetic.._. You'll understand one day."

The deity snapped his fingers one more time and Annabeth appeared at his feet. He looked at her, almost melancholic, but then reached down and closed his hand around her throat. The daughter of Athena gasped in surprise.

"NOOO!" Percy hollered at the top of his lungs, a look of terror taking over his features. He writhed in his invisible shackles, trying desperately to break free.

Chaos turned to look at him, wearing Alex' face. _That face_ , not angry, but peaceful, almost too peaceful, not a trace of the monstrosity that he was reflected in his expression, _that face_ was going to be imprinted in Percy's memories _forever_ , haunt him for eternity.

Tears were clouding Percy's eyes. Shaking in fear and drowning in guilt that he simply could not break out of his bonds, the son of Poseidon watched. He watched as _the monster_ held up Annabeth by her throat. She was uselessly struggling to escape his deathly grip, clawing at his arm, kicking with her feet. Chaos did not budge. His gaze was frozen on Percy's. Annabeth's face was painted a washed red color as she struggled for a breath.

"History repeats itself, Percy," spoke Chaos with the same calmness. "Remember that."

As the last word rolled out of his mouth, the deity closed his fist through Annabeth's neck, his fingers digging through her flesh, blood gushing out around them with force. For a fraction of a second, her eyes widened, then her body went slack. Chaos drew in a long breath and tossed her body aside.

Something broke in the son of Poseidon at that moment and he suddenly understood what his future self had meant. Out of all the ways he had watched the daughter of Athena die, _despite watching her die dozens of times_ , this time... this time Percy felt like he had died with her. And Alex was the one who killed her. No, not Alex, but what Alex was going to become.

Something broke in the son of Poseidon and in that moment he knew, _he_ _knew_ he would follow the same path that his future self had already carved for him. But this time, this time he would be successful. This time he would save her.

"I am sorry for that," Chaos started, gesturing at Annabeth's body. With every word that spilled out of his mouth, the monster was stepping closer and closer to the son of Poseidon. "But, you see... I had to do it. I'm sure you will understand, someday, that I had no choice."

Chaos was now standing only a few inches away from Percy. If the demigod didn't know any better, the primordial's face was almost apologetic, almost... sorrowful.

Percy narrowed his eyes that were brimmed with tears, a few drops trickling down his cheeks. "I am going to kill you!" the hero snarled. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" he cried, his voice hoarse, drenched in pain.

Giving him a sympathetic smile, Chaos said, "I'm sure you will."

His whole body boiling with anger, his voice shaking, Percy managed a nod and added slowly, punctuating every word in a menacing way, "I. Swear. On. River. Styx."

Chaos shut his eyes and pressed his lips together, then exhaled sharply and opened his eyes, and it was like he gazed straight into Percy's soul. "History repeats itself, Percy. Remember that."

"Go to hell," the demigod spat.

"See you soon then," Chaos laughed languidly, turning around. "Oh, and by the way, consider the molten gold that flows through your veins a gift from me... See you real soon, Percy." And just like that, he vanished.

The invisible force that was restraining the son of Poseidon disappeared as well, Percy collapsing on the ground and gasping for air.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Wow, this was a long chapter (for me at least)... I hope you guys liked it well enough and I can't wait to hear your thoughts about this turn of events in the reviews. Really, guys, I love reading your reviews and they keep me motivated to update faster!


	8. Chapter VIII

**Ichor or Blood**

**Chapter VIII**

_The invisible force that was restraining the son of Poseidon disappeared as well, Percy collapsing on the ground and gasping for air._

In no time, he was kneeling next to Annabeth's body. Her gray eyes were still open, their usual witty gleam now replaced by a sickening dullness, her face was a shade paler than usual, red blood staining her lips and chin, and the wound on her neck... Percy had to close his eyes.

It took a moment for the shock to wear out until realization sunk in. Silent tears ran down his face. He balled his fists and with a pained voice said, "I'm going to make this right, Annabeth. That's a promise."

That night, he didn't attend her funeral. He stayed up in his cabin, staring for hours at the ceiling. The memory of Chaos closing his fist around Annabeth's neck played over and over again in his mind. It fueled his anger to the brim, but for him, she wasn't dead. He was going to get her back.

* * *

"Oh, Percy..." Piper sobbed as she hugged him, holding each other as they cried.

They were now gathered on the steps of Cabin Three.

As it turned out, Perseus had been right. The loop was over. The rest of the seven returned to Camp Half Blood the next morning, as soon as they heard the news. Percy was trying not to let the mood of the others affect him. The campers' spirits were low and the gods were buzzing after Chaos' awakening.

"How are you holding up, Perce?" Leo asked.

"We should have been here!" Jason scolded himself. "If all of us had been here–"

"No," the son of Poseidon interrupted him. His eyes searched for theirs. "I can fix this, guys. I can bring her back!"

Silence fell among his friends.

Chewing on his bottom lip, but with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, Percy continued. "I know I can fix this."

"Percy..." Hazel whispered with concern. "What are you talking about? You know the gods won't allow you to bring the dead back to life."

An unanimous nod of agreement spread among the group.

Determination overtook Percy's features. "I'm not talking about raising the dead."

The rest of the demigods raised their eyebrows in confusion.

"Then what?" asked Jason.

A devilish smile spread on his face. "I'm going to go back in time."

"Um... You _what_ now?" Leo stared at him like he was on drugs. The others didn't look much more excited either.

"Don't pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about." Percy rolled his eyes. "I told you what happened. If my future self did it, it means I can do it as well."

"Whoa, hold on a second, Percy," Piper warned. "Take some time and think about it. Like, what if you going back in time is what triggers this? What if you going back in time kills her? You need to think this through. Is it really a good idea?"

His shoulders slumped forward and he let his body fall down onto the stairs. "I... It doesn't even matter!" he suddenly lashed out. "She's already dead... All I can do is at least try and fix this." His eyes raised and met Piper's which were full of worry. "You are right. It is my fault."

"That's not—"

The son of Poseidon put a hand up to stop her, then jumped to his feet, stretching his back.

"Lets's say you can fix this, but how exactly are you planning to go back in time?" Frank intervened.

With a shrug, Percy stepped away from the group, their eyes lingering on his back. "I'm gonna find a way."

Right as he was about to turn back, a bright flash of light blinded him. The next moment, a familiar figure was standing next to him.

"Hermes?"

The god smiled at the group. "You were summoned on Olympus. A council meeting is being held and your presence has been requested."

Just like that, the bright light enveloped them and in the next second they were in the Throne Room on Olympus. The gods were sitting in their respective thrones, apparently in the middle of a heated argument. As soon as the god of travelers appeared with the demigods, they stopped.

Zeus raised to his feet and fixed Percy with his gaze. "Son of Poseidon, you appear to be the core of this problem."

The room erupted with voices, some protesting, others agreeing.

"Silence!" bellowed the king of the gods. "The same day _er_ , a _you_ from the future appeared at Camp, Chaos also awakened. Could that be a coincidence?"

"No," Percy answered and felt Piper elbow him in his side. _Ouch_!

"Are you admitting then that you are to blame for this _situation_?"

"No."

Zeus cleared his throat. "No?"

"It isn't my fault!" he protested. "You don't know..." His voice caught in his throat and he shot Zeus a fierce look.

"Lies!" Ares spat from his throne.

"Hey, watch your mouth, I like the kid!" Apollo yelled.

The room soon boomed with the voices of the olympians shouting at each other.

"My son had nothing to do with it, brother," Poseidon warned, looking straight at Zeus.

Slowly, but surely, Percy's patience was wearing off. The gods obviously weren't seeing the bigger picture. They didn't know, they didn't remember being stuck in the loop. Whatever had happened, all of it had been orchestrated by Chaos. The thought alone made his blood boil.

As if an invisible force was reacting to his emotions, Percy felt a surge of power sweep over his entire body. It buzzed inside his guts and before he even realized what was happening, all the windows of the Throne Room exploded into bits. Shards of glass flew everywhere, impaling themselves into the flesh of the gods.

The entire room froze. Percy was shaking after his sudden burst. His eyes widened and he turned towards his friends. All of them were crouched down, watching him in horror, but visibly unharmed.

"Percy...?" Poseidon spoke with uncertainty.

The demigod's head snapped back to the thrones in from of him. Everyone was stunned.

As if coming out of a shock, Zeus shook himself and ordered, "Hold him down!"

Two of Hephaestus' automatons appeared from somewhere behind the thrones, marched to him and caught him in their steel grip. Percy tried to shrug them off, but otherwise didn't put up a fight. He was still pretty shaken himself and cursed internally at his powers.

_Consider the molten gold flowing through your veins a gift_ , Chaos had told him. All of a sudden, a feeling of disgust washed over him. He didn't want any gift from that monster.

"...his hand!" Zeus' powerful voice brought him back into reality.

"Wh—what?" he swallowed, but before he could react, one of the automatons gripped his wrist and turned the palm of his hand upwards. Percy tried to yank it back, but the robot was holding him with a lot of strength and honestly... the boy felt exhausted.

A bronze dagger sprung out of the other automaton's arm and with an incredible speed, it cut a small gash in his palm. Percy winced at the contact.

"Hey!" he protested and tried to yank his hand back.

All the eyes in the room were glued on the small incision, which was oozing golden blood. Percy looked away, feeling the same disgust swell up inside him.

"Oh boy," Leo muttered audibly,, expressing what everyone else was thinking.

Zeus slumped back in his throne.

"Look," Percy tried to explain, "I don't like this any more than you do, but—"

"We need to discuss this," Zeus grunted, nodding to himself. He cleared his throat. "Take the demigods outside," he ordered to the automatons.

The machines complied, ushering the rest of the seven towards the two immense bronze doors and trying to yank Percy after them. The son of Poseidon dug his heels into the floor struggling out of the robots' grasp.

"Wait! Take your hands off me!" He jerked his arms away and managed to free himself. The next second, he uncapped Riptide and pointed it towards the two automatons. All the gods sprung to their feet, tense and ready for an attack. They looked visibly shaken and, if Percy didn't know any better, they even appeared a little scared.

"Are you nuts?!" His friends looked at him with round eyes.

"Listen to me," the demigod spoke slowly and with caution. "I know you'll want to strip me of my powers—"

"Damn right we do," said Ares furiously.

"It's for the best," agreed Demeter.

"Percy, for your own good..." added Poseidon.

He shook his head, his sword still pointed at the— now frozen —automatons. "I hate them even more than you fear them..."

"We never said we feared them," retorted Zeus with a scowl.

"Yeah, whatever you say. My point is," continued Percy, "I'd be right with you on this one, but this might be the only chance we have against Chaos."

Tension grew at the sound of that name.

"I think we should listen to the boy," said Aphrodite. "And it looks like immortality is doing him good," she added with a chuckle, eyes roaming over Percy's body.

Artemis let out a guttural growl, glaring at the goddess of beauty. "In spite of how much I hate it, I side with Aphrodite on this one. We never know when we might need an extra hand."

"Percy Jackson is a threat," spat Athena, who had been quiet up until that point.

All gazes turned to the goddess of wisdom. Her face was emotionless, except for the anger burning in her eyes.

"Chaos has risen after a future version of the Jackson boy showed up to camp. The outcome is obvious. We leave Percy alone and he'll live to find a way to go back in time. And that—" she said in a steely voice, her eyes shooting dagger at the demigod— "cannot happen."

Her words reverberated around the room, but only Percy caught their real meaning: _You killed my daughter, now I'm going to kill you_.

One by one, almost every god nodded, agreeing to what Athena had said. Percy felt his guts buzzing with anticipation.

"Everyone in favor of stripping Perseus off his powers, raise a hand," instructed Zeus.

Ten hands went up. Poseidon, Aphrodite, Artemis and Hestia remained still.

After a few moments, the king of the gods bobbed his head approvingly. "It is set then. We shall strip Perseus off his newly acquired godhood."

The second the words were out of Zeus' mouth, Percy attacked. With a swift move, he rolled behind the automatons and ran for the doors. The gods jumped up, combat mode on. Casting a glance at his friends, Percy hoped they understood his silent plea.

They each nodded.

Hazel threw open the bronze doors with her powers, while the other gathered protectively in a semicircle in front of the escaping demigod. The gods approached with reluctance, suddenly being thrown off by their kids offense. Percy ran as fast as he could, jumping over stairs and nymphs as he made his way towards the elevator. He didn't dare look back. Part of him expected to see a flash of light at any moment and then a god taking him back, but it never happened. When the elevator reached the ground floor, Percy booked it out of there and didn't stop until he was several blocks away from the Empire State Building.

He took a turn on a secluded alleyway. His knees buckled when he came to a stop and he slid down on the concrete behind a dumpster, breathing heavily.

_Hff_... _Hff_...

_That was close_...

"You should never back out of a fight."

Percy jumped, startled by the voice. His eyes searched for the source of the voice, but he didn't see anyone else in the alley.

"Wh...What?" he asked, his breaths still uneven after the effort.

The voice laughed. Suddenly, the air seemed to charge up with an eerie feeling. Percy jumped up, uncapping Riptide and adopting a more defensive stance. A gust of wind blew to his right, and the demigod jerked around, slashing through the air.

"Who's there?" he yelled.

"What, don't you recognize me?" The voice became more familiar with each uttered word. "I thought you'd be glad too see me, Seaweed Brain."

Percy dropped his sword. He felt a warm breath on his neck. Goosebumps raised allover his skin. Slowly, the son of Poseidon turned around. His heart was hammering in his chest and tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Annabeth...?" he asked in a barely audible whisper.

His eyes met a pair of grey ones. Annabeth was grinning at him. Percy tentatively reached out to touch her, brushing a hand through her hair.

"You... You're real..."

Her grin morphed into a wistful smile as Percy wrapped her in a tight hug. He couldn't contain the sobs that erupted from his mouth. The daughter of Athena held him and nuzzled her face in his neck, tears filling her eyes as well.

"You're real," Percy cried, his hands gripping her T-shirt, not wanting to let go. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Wise Girl... I'm so sorry!"

"Shh," the daughter of Athena caressed his back. "It's okay, Percy... It's okay."

After what felt like ages, they broke the hug. Percy interlaced their fingers, not daring to let go for good. With his free hand he wiped his tears away.

"H-how?" Percy chocked a broken laugh, eyes filled with a hopeful gleam.

Annabeth forced a smile, then looked away. She cleared her throat and pulled her hand out of Percy's grip. Crossing her arms over her chest, she sighed. "Truth is... I am not your Annabeth."

"What...?"

She glanced up, her eyes meeting Percy's. He was staring at her like a kicked puppy.

"I am Annabeth... In a way." She nervously bit her lip. "I am a clay figure, Ann is my name. Annabeth created me with the help of a spell."

With each word, color drained from Percy's face. He was listening carefully to what she was saying.

"I'm sorry... Annabeth created me to come to life in case she died, so I can continue her projects."

All she was met with was silence.

"I know it's a lot to digest, but I'm still her in a way. I have all her memories and I can still feel emotions."

"No..." The son of Poseidon turned around. "No, you... you need to get away from me." His voice was strained like he was trying to keep sobs back.

"But I want to help you..." Ann reached out and placed a hand on the demigod's shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this," Percy chocked and took off running back into the street.

Ann didn't move. She watched him go, a single tear falling from her eyes.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I'm back!
> 
> First of all, I want to thank all of you for your support. It means a lot to me!
> 
> Second of all, I want to apologize for my absence, but as I've already stated, I was busy with some *very important* exams. Next week I'll have my last exam and then I'll finally be free.
> 
> Hopefully I can get back on schedule and update all my stories once a week. Now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to read your opinions in the reviews!


	9. Chapter IX

**Ichor or Blood**

**Chapter IX**

_Ann didn't move. She watched him go, a single tear falling from her eyes._

* * *

A tornado of feelings was on full rampage in Percy's heart as he ran back into the busy street. An uncomfortable pressure settled on his chest, making his breaths shallow and uneven. Around him, the world was a blur. His eyes couldn't focus on anything as the events of the past day kept replaying over and over again in his head.

_His future self, Annabeth, Alex, Chaos, the gods, his powers..._

A sharp pain in his shoulder jerked him back into reality. He looked at the person he had just bumped into. The man, a shady-looking bald dude with a massive build and tattoos covering his arms and neck, seized him up and down with an annoyed stare.

"Watch where you're going, asshole," the man sneered at Percy, who mumbled a 'sorry' and went on his way.

All of a sudden, he felt someone forcefully push him from behind. Caught by surprise, he stumbled down onto the pavement, scraping his elbows on the coarse surface.

"I said _watch where you're going, asshole_!"

Barely having time to register what was going on, the demigod found himself hauled up from the ground by the collar of his T-Shirt, and face to face with the man. Adrenaline started pumping though Percy's veins and, in the heat of the moment, he head-butted the guy right in the face. There was an audible crack as the demigod's forehead connected with the other's nose and he was suddenly free from the man's grip. The guy clutched his nose with both hands, streams of blood pouring down his face, neck and arms.

Percy tried to look away, but it was too late. His eyes remained glued on the blood streaming down the man's neck. Visions started overlapping over what was going on in reality, images of Chaos holding Annabeth up by her throat, her face turning red as she gasped for air and then blood spurting around Chaos' hand as he closed his fist through Annabeth's flesh. All of Percy was frozen, a sinking feeling in his stomach. An invisible force was pulling him in, deeper and deeper into that moment.

Suddenly, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, ASSHOLE!"

The man's voice made Percy snap back into his senses. He did an 180 and, without looking back, hightailed down the street, not stopping until he found himself in front of his apartment building. His vision was spinning before his eyes as he came to a stop, a nauseating feeling overtaking his senses. Trying to keep himself together, he clenched his jaw and managed to make it to his apartment. Although, as soon as he stumbled inside, his knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor, a numbness settling over his muscles _and_ over his mind. The world started going dark.

_"Percy?"_ He heard his mother call out, but her voice was faint and distant. Before passing out completely, the demigod felt someone trying to shake him awake, but he just sank deeper into the welcoming darkness.

_Blackness_. _Silence_. It was as if he was and wasn't there at the same time. Then, at once, a rich voice rang from all around him and from nowhere at all.

_"Do you see?"_ It asked.

Percy couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything. He wasn't physically somewhere. He just... _was_.

_"Here is where it all began. Where I began... Where you began."_

_"I don't understand,"_ Percy thought.

The voice laughed and suddenly it felt like he was free-falling through the dark. A beam of light appeared in the distance, growing bigger by the second. It soon overcame the darkness and Percy materialized into his body. He looked down at himself, confused, then at his surroundings.

For a split of a second, he didn't recognize the place, but soon it all came rushing back to him. The small cabin with a bed and a desk. The bright screen of a laptop shone from the desk, illuminating the dark room. It was Annabeth's cabin, on Argo II.

" _Percy._ "

The sound of his name made him jump up, startled. He turned around and there was Annabeth standing only inches behind him. She looked nice, nicer than usual. Percy noticed that she had her hair done in a fancy bun and was wearing a long tight silver dress, which fit her perfectly.

She smile and approached the son of Poseidon, who was too stunned to speak. With a beaming smile, she playfully pushed in Percy's shoulder.

"What?" She laughed. "Cat ate your tongue?"

Percy swallowed, forgetting himself, and shook his head. "Wow... You are... beautiful."

Annabeth huffed with amusement. Looking her boyfriend up and down, she grinned approvingly. "You're not too bad yourself. Now, if you're done drooling allover yourself, Seaweed Brain, c'mon. _We'll be late for the ball!_ "

Confusion overtook Percy's features when he looked down and realized he was wearing a black tuxedo. Annabeth reached for his hand and dragged him out of the cabin, directly into an immense ballroom. It was crowded with people dressed up in suits and dresses. An orchestra was playing music and Annabeth started tugging him after her, towards the middle of the room which was packed with couple dancing together on a slow, romantic song.

"Wait," Percy frowned, digging his heel in the ground. Annabeth stopped, turning to look at him expectantly. "Wait, something's not right. Where are we?"

"What do you mean?" Annabeth raised her eyebrows, genuinely puzzled. "Aphrodite's ball?"

When Percy gave no sign of understanding, she continued.

"Aphrodite's celebratory ball? Annual tradition after defeating Chaos? Does your head hurt or something?"

Percy's heart stopped and he felt his heart drop in his stomach. He felt like the floor was swept from under his feet and hea leaned on Annabeth for support.

"No, no, this can't be real," Percy muttered, his foggy memory suddenly becoming crisp and clear. " _Ahh!_ " He clutched his forehead when a throbbing headache suddenly hit him.

He jolted upright, finding himself in his bed, at his apartment. He blinked, eyes hurting as if he had just been punched repeatedly in the head.

What a dream, he thought, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his whole body as if he was was shrugging off invisible spiders.

"Mom?" He groggily called out and Sally strode into his room right away.

A sudden sigh of relief came from his mother, as soon as she saw him. She gently sat down on the bed, pressing a cold hand onto his forehead.

Percy took a shaky breath and closed his eyes, enjoying, for a moment, the soft touch of his mother. The joy was short-lived though.

"Oh honey, I was so worried," she said and smiled weakly, pulling her hand back. "You wouldn't wake up... I... I didn't know what to do."

Her eyes moved towards the door. Percy followed her gaze. There stood a group of five figures he hadn't even noticed at first. Sally squeezed his hand, getting up from the bed as his friends poured into the room one by one.

"I'll leave you kids alone," Sally said and glanced at her son one last time, before disappearing into the hallway.

The bed shifted as Hazel sat down next to Percy, who was watching silently as everyone found a spot to stay. For a brief moment, no one dared to break the silence. Finally, the son of Poseidon took a deep breath.

"Hey..." He spoke softly.

They all looked worriedly at each other.

"Percy, you... I— We don't think you're safe here," Jason said with a hint of regret in his voice.

"I know, I know," Percy shakily rubbed the back of his neck. "How bad is it?"

"Like you should leave any minute now, dude," Leo answered, spinning around in Percy's desk-chair. "Zeus went full on terminator when you teleported out of there. Said he's gonna hunt you down wherever you're hiding and all that crap."

"Wait, hold on a sec. Did you just say when I _teleported_ out of there?" The son of Poseidon asked baffled.

"Um, yeah?"

"Don't you remember...?" Hazel frowned and glanced at the others.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't?"

They all looked at each other in confusion.

"You did, we all saw you," Frank asserted.

"Yeah, after Hazel forced the doors open, you ran towards them and then disappeared—" Piper snapped her fingers explicitly "—just like that."

"Oh, boy... Okay..." Percy muttered. "It didn't feel that way to me."

"In any case, it freaked out my father. Really freaked him out. We should leave and start looking for a hiding place, before they find you here," suggested Jason.

"But why are they taking so long? Shouldn't this be like... the first place they would look for me?"

A sheepish unanimous laughter filled the room.

"That may have something to do with us," Piper shrugged, smirking.

Eyebrows raised, Percy asked, "Wait, what did you guys do?"

A devilish smile spread on Leo's face as he juggled with a fireball. "Let's say we... lit up the throne room."

For the first time in a long time, the son of Poseidon laughed genuinely. "Guys," he started, looking all of them in the eyes, "I want you to know that... that you are some awesome friends and... I'm glad that I met you. All of you."

" _Wha_ , that was so... cheesy," Leo said, theatrically pressing a hand over his heart.

"Shut up, Valdez." Frank glared at the other boy, who rolled his eyes in response. "We are too, Percy. But what does that have to do with anything?"

Inhaling wistfully, Percy continued. "I'm not sure what's supposed to happen next or what am I supposed to do—" he focused his stare on a poster of Finding Nemo, avoiding his friends' eyes, "—but whatever it is, it's mine to deal with... _alone_."

The smiles instantly dropped from everyone's faces.

" _What are you even saying?_ " Piper snapped back.

"Percy, we won't let you go though this alone!" Hazel decided firmly.

"Damn right we won't," agreed Leo.

"Thanks guys, but truth is you can't help me." The words left a bitter taste in his mouth, accompanying the sharp pain he felt in his chest.

"That's not—" Jason tried to argue, but he was cut short.

"This is all my fault. Chaos is my fault and so is A—" He couldn't finish the sentence, the words getting stuck in his throat. Closing his eyes, he tried to push the tears away. Annabeth was gone, _because of him_... He felt like such a coward, not even able to admit it.

A warm hand squeezed his own. He opened his eyes and saw Hazel watching him with concern.

"We won't let you go through this alone," she repeated with the same sturdiness.

The rest of his friends approached the bed and knelt at his side, one by one placing their hands over Percy's and Hazel's.

"You won't get rid of us so easily, Aqua-boy, so keep dreaming." Leo winked and put his hand over theirs, giving a little squeeze.

"What Leo said," Piper joined in. "We're in."

"We're here for you. Whenever you need us." Frank placed his hand over those of his friends.

Jason smiled at them, then topped the pile of hands with his. "For Percy."

They all there their arms up in the air with a loud cheer.

"I can't thank you enough," Percy admitted, smiling at his friends. "Although, I—"

"Shh," Piper stopped him. "Don't you dare say another word."

Percy looked like he wanted to say something, but stopped abruptly, eyes widening. He gave the daughter of Aphrodite a disappointing stare.

"Wait," said Leo, jerking up in his chair, "did you just charm-speak him?"

Piper grinned mischievously.

"Oh, just remind me guys to never mess with her, " Leo gulped.

"What should we do now?" Frank asked.

"Well, our priority should be finding a hiding place , ASAP," answered Jason.

Piper squinted her eyes at him, then reached forward and pushed up his glasses, which had slid down on the bridge of his nose. "Here," the smile reappeared on her face, "better now."

"Um, thanks, Pipes."

Percy cleared his throat. "I agree." He looked towards the hallway, thinking about his mother. "The sooner we leave, the better. So... any ideas?"

"Consider the problem fixed," beamed Leo, crossing his arms behind his head. "I'm not exactly supposed to tell you this, since my siblings would kill me, but... we've kinda got a secret place here in NY, similar to bunker nine."

"You do?" Frank frowned. "And how do you know the gods won't find us there?"

"First of all, it's secret and second of all, just trust me."

"Great then," Percy jumped to his feet. What are we waiting for?"

All of them scrambled up. The son of Poseidon threw some supplies in a backpack, then they all headed out, Percy saying goodbye to his mother. Once on the street, they flagged two taxis.

Leo, Piper and Jason got in the first one, Percy, Hazel and Frank in the other.

The drive was long and boring. No one said anything. Percy was leaning his head against the window, watching the city lights blur past them. They looked so surreal... it reminded him of his dream about Annabeth and the ball. His head almost hurt thinking about it. It was just his mind playing tricks, Percy tried to convince himself. Demigods had dreams about real situations and _that_... it couldn't be.

"Something on your mind?"

"Huh?" Percy came out of his thoughts and saw Hazel peering at him.

The young girl shrugged. "I'm here if you need to talk."

Percy gave her a small smile, then returned to staring through window. After a forty minute drive, their taxi pulled up in front of an abandoned warehouse, somewhere in the outskirts of the city. They all regrouped and Leo led them inside through a side entry. Inside was even darker than the night outside. Leo lit up a fireball in his hand, than proceeded to lead down a narrow stairwell, into the basement.

"How long till we get there? I think I just stepped in rat poop..." Piper complained, a shiver shaking her up for a moment.

"Hang on," the son of Hephaestus said, trying to open a manhole in the basement's floor. " _Almost... there...!_ "

The metal hinges screeched as Leo opened the heavy iron hatch, revealing an iron leader descending even further into the ground.

"Who's going in first?" The elfish boy smirked at the group. "What?! I have to stay last so I can close the hatch," he defended himself after seeing everyone scowling in his direction.

"I'll go," Hazel beamed and hopped onto the ladder, the rest of the group following right behind her.

Once everyone got safely to the bottom, Leo pulled a lever and the place was suddenly flooded with light.

"Wow. This is actually... _nice_ ," Jason said approvingly.

"Yeah, it is." Percy spun in a circle, taking in the cozy-looking room.

The floor was covered with a soft carpet, and beanbags were littered across the room. A huge bronze TV was hanging on one of the brick walls, while the others were plastered with blueprints for diverse machineries and rafts holding said machineries.

"Welcome to _the Stark Cave_." Leo presented the place with a grand gesture and a bow.

"Seriously dude? You named it... Stark Cave?" Percy said disapprovingly.

Leo put a hand over his heart, as if he were hurt. "Don't you dare judge, Aqua Boy."

"Whoa, check this out!" Jason shouted from across the room, where he opened a metal door. "We have a kitchen!"

Leo cleared his throat. "A fully equipped kitchen. And by that I mean fully equipped with snaksss!"

Hazel and Piper had already made themselves comfortable on two of the beanbags.

"I'm never getting up again." Piper curled on the mushy beanbag.

"Seconded," Percy said as he plopped down on one.

After everyone was seated, Percy took a deep breath and straighten up.

"Now that we are here, safe for the moment, let's come up with a plan."

"Can't we do it tomorrow...?" Leo pouted. "I think I've had enough for a single day."

"No, we—"

"Leo's right, Percy. We all need some rest, especially you," Piper chided.

Anger flashed on Percy's face. " _Annabeth needs us!_ "

_BOOM_

The tap and pipes in the kitchen exploded, water spraying into the air with force just as the words left his mouth.

"Percy!"

His angry expression morphed into a mortified one.

"I..."

His eyes looked around at the stunned and fearful faces of his friends. A sudden pang of guilt hit him.

"I'm so sorry... I... I need to go."

He headed towards the ladder, hearing his friends shout after him in the background, wishing he were somewhere else. Suddenly, the world blurred past him in a beam of light and he found himself in front of the warehouse. Looking down at himself, he clenched his fists and punched the wall behind him. The concrete crumbled and Percy looked at the hole he had just made in shock, then slumped down to his knees, clutching his head in his arms.

"Your friends don't hate you, Percy."

Percy's head snapped to his right, towards the familiar voice. A silhouette was standing a few feet away, shrouded in darkness. The voice was so familiar, he was sure he knew it, but he just couldn't place his finger on it.

"Wh-who are you?' he stammered, rising to his feet.

The figure stepped forward, into the light of a lamppost. Percy's eyes widened and his jaw fell open.

"You can't be... you're dead..." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand... there you have it! The next chapter!
> 
> I'm sorry I took so long, but I hope it was worth the wait. Next chapter should be up soon, I hope. Thank you all for your support, really!
> 
> P. S. Can you guess who that is at the end of the chapter? Probably not, but it doesn't hurt to try!


	10. Chapter X

**Ichor or Blood**

**Chapter X**

_The figure stepped forward, into the light of a lamppost. Percy's eyes widened and his jaw fell open._

_"You can't be... you're dead..."_

"Percy, we don't have much time—"

In a flash, he closed the distance between them and pointed Riptide at the underside of the figure's jaw.

"Luke," the son of Poseidon snarled, fury bubbling up inside his chest.

The blond cautiously raised his arms in a placating manner, his intense blue eyes staring fixated on the other demigod. He looked just the same as Percy remembered, from head to toe. Even the scar was the same.

Percy narrowed his eyes, but lowered his sword. "What are you doing here? _How_ are you here? I thought you've chosen rebirth."

Luke breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the sharp point of the sword was no longer pressed agains his throat.

"I'm not going to lie, Percy. I'm here to warn you. "

"Warn me about what?!" Percy snapped. "It's not like I don't have enough on my mind as it is."

"Listen to me," Luke's tone was harsh and demanding. "This is important, otherwise... otherwise I wouldn't have risked escaping the Underworld just to come here and have a little chat with you, okay?!"

Deep down, Percy had forgiven Luke, but still, seeing him in flesh and blood was pulling at long forgotten strings of anger inside the demigod. It took a moment or two before he was calm again, understanding that the son of Hermes had come to him with good intentions.

Percy sighed, his shoulders slumping forward. "I'm tired, Luke. I'm _so_ _tired._ "

A look of understanding flashed in Luke's eyes and, for a second, he hesitated.

"I'm sorry, Percy, but now you know how I felt. It doesn't justify what I did, but—"

"What's done is done, it's in the past now and we have forgiven you."

"Thank you," Luke whispered and looked at his feet as he scraped the ground with the heel of his sneaker.

"But you didn't come here to have little heartfelt chats with me."

"No," he glanced up, "The Underworld is a mess right now. Something ancient stirred up here, on Earth."

Percy nodded grimly. They started walking around the side of the warehouse as they talked.

"You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

"Yes..."

In the shortest version he could come up with, Percy explained what had happened to him, from the first time loop, to his blood turned ichor, to his powers, to Chaos awaking, to Annabeth's death and now to the gods hunting him down.

"Wow, that's... a lot to process."

"You tell me."

Luke rubbed the back of his neck. "Then it means I was right, coming here and finding you."

The son of Poseidon listened carefully to what the older demigod was saying.

"Back when I was—" he spat the next words like they were the plague, "when Kronos used my body as a vessel, I was able to see inside his mind, for a few short seconds, before feeling like I was getting incinerated, and gods... It was horrible, I can't and don't want to describe the kind of things I saw." He shook his head like he was trying to expel some bad thoughts. "Anyway, there was one thing, though, that caught my attention. A feeble thought, but it repeated in the back of the titan's mind like a mantra. At first I didn't know what to make of it, but it stuck with me and when that shockwave coming from the surface hit the Underworld, I knew I had to warn you somehow."

"So?" Percy asked intrigued and terrified at the same time. "What is it?"

Luke closed his eyes for a second as if trying to remember.

"The timeless comes."

Percy waited for Luke to continue, but the blond didn't.

"What? That's all?"

"Yeah," Luke answered, looking a little unsatisfied himself. "But it seemed very important and... this thought was accompanied by a feeling. A constant buzz of terror. Kronos was terrified by it, and trust me," he huffed, "I've never seen Kronos terrified of anything in the entire time that I served him."

"But now we know that it's Chaos, right?" Percy asked with a shrug. "Probably Kronos could feel the _timeless_ or whatever and was scared that it—"

A loud shriek erupted a few feet in front of them. Instantly, Percy uncapped Riptide and Luke pulled out a dagger from a sheath at his side, both of them adopting a defensive stance, ready for an ambush.

Every lamppost on one mile radius seemed to have gone crazy, lights flickering on an off until they exploded, one by one, into a cascade of white sparks, until the whole street was shrouded in a thick darkness.

The sound of flapping wings came from overhead. In the faint glow of his celestial bronze sword, Percy caught glimpse of a huge bat-like creature. Realization dawned upon him.

"The Furies!" He yelled, turning towards Luke. "They are here for you!"

Luke raised his eyebrows at Percy, while still trying to intercept any potential attack from Hades's monsters.

"You don't say..."

"Luke Castellan," one of the Furies screeched from somewhere to their left. "Lord Hades is expecting you!"

Percy slashed in a wide arc in the direction of the voice, but his blade only met thin air.

"Percy Jackson! Your head is wanted. On a spike!" The Fury laughed, her sisters joining in, sounding like rabid witches. "We are so going to get a promotion when we capture you!"

While they were busy laughing and screeching, an idea popped in Percy's head. He turned and whispered to Luke.

"They are using shadow-travel, we need light. Lots of it."

Luke nodded in understanding. "Yes, but it's the middle of the night. How are we going to do that?"

"Let me worry about it," said Percy. "I need you to cover for me."

That said, Luke stepped in front of him, slashing the air at every flap of wings.

Percy's heart was racing as he approached a broken lamppost. His idea was crazy, and he didn't know if it would work, but he had to try. Without a second thought, he firmly clasped his palms around the metal base of the pole and closed his eyes, trying to conjure the power he had been feeling over the past days. He knew he had it in him, he had tried to push it down before, to oppress it, but now... he was doing the exact opposite, calling it back to him.

At first nothing happened, and for a split second Percy doubted himself, but then, everything erupted. Heat pooled in his stomach like lava, then spread to his arms, rippling through his veins. The tips of his fingers buzzed and he forced the power out of his body, into the metal shaft. The lamppost lit up with the power of a millions volts, and night turned into day.

Even with his eyes closed, the light was blinding. He hoped that Luke had been smart enough to close his eyes. The Furies shrieked in pain, agonizing screams piercing through the air. Percy let go of the lamppost, which kept emanating light, and slumped backwards, his muscles burning and feeling like lead.

To his left, he saw Luke chasing after one of the creatures, whose skin was bristled and burnt. Gathering all the strength he had left, the demigod pushed himself off the ground and raised Riptide, charging into battle. He ran straight ahead, where one Fury was writhing on the ground.

When he was next to it, Percy raised his sword and brought it down in one swift motion, the celestial bronze blade cutting through the monster's flesh like it was butter, but then the strangest thing happened. Instead of turning into a pile of golden dust, the body of the Fury glowed red, like it was burning up from the inside. Small pieces, like ash particles, started falling off from it as it disintegrated.

Then the horrifying part came. The body particles began floating towards Percy, who was slowly backing away. It was gross and unsanitary, Percy was thinking. He didn't want nasty pieces of Fury flesh anywhere near him.

"What the heck is happening?!" Percy shouted.

"I don't know, get away from there," Luke ordered and rushed over, grasping Percy's wrist with the intention of dragging him away. " _Ouch_!" Luke yelped and yanked his arm back, clutching his palm in pain. "What the hell?!"

Percy looked down at his own wrist and what he saw made him freeze in place. An ouroboros bracelet was strapped around his wrist, glowing orange as if it were molten metal. All the particles from the Fury's body slammed into the bracelet, but surprisingly, it absorbed them right up and with every piece that went through it, Percy felt a bit stronger. By the end of it, he felt like he had just woken from a good night's sleep, drank three coffees and five energy drinks.

"What in the name of Zeus just happened?" Luke demanded, staring at the younger demigod in shock.

Too shaken up to answer, Percy shrugged, his eyes locked on the Ouroboros as its glow slowly faded.

"We have to go, there might be other monsters coming. Let's go."

The two of them started heading back towards the warehouse at a brisk pace, trying to pay attention to other things that might have been lurking in the dark.

"How did this get here?" Percy asked, turning his wrist around as they walked.

"It doesn't matter right now."

"Yes, but—"

"Focus, Percy."

"I am focused! I just saved both our asses back there and need I remind you who the Furies were after?!"

Luke pressed his lips together, as if trying not to say something. After a moment, he sighed.

"Yes, you saved us. Thank you for that, but Percy, I can't go back. _I can't._ "

If he didn't know any better, Percy could swear he heard fear in Luke's voice.

"I never said you should go back. This is your chance, Luke. Try not to screw it up this time."

* * *

They reached the warehouse without any other incidents. They climbed down into Leo's Stark Cave and Percy was ready to apologize, but as soon as they stepped in, his blood turned to ice.

"Percy, you're back!" Hazel chirped happily.

"And... you're not alone," Jason added.

"What are you doing here?!" Percy asked, eyes focused on a person who hadn't been there the last time.

Luke froze right next to him. "Annabeth...?" He said unsure, then turned to Percy. "I though you said that she was—"

"That's because this is not Annabeth!" Percy cut him off, bitterly eyeing his girlfriend's lookalike. " _Ann_. What are you doing here?"

She didn't answer, her stare glued on Luke. Before anything else could happen, the two ran and hugged each other fiercely.

"Alright, I am confused," Leo announced. "Who is he again?"

"This is Luke, Luke Castellan," the son of Poseidon said.

A collective gasp rippled through the room.

" _The_ Luke Castellan?" Piper marveled.

Luke, who was standing side by side with Ann, nodded.

"Alright, see you tomorrow guys, I'm going to go an burry myself in sand because I've had enough mindfucks for a single night," Leo said and let himself fall on one of the beanbags.

"Ann," Percy repeated, "What are you doing here?"

She looked at him guiltily with a pair of gray eyes, sending a jolt of pain through Percy's chest. He was forced to look away, the uncanny resemblance between her and Annabeth being too much for him at that moment.

"I know you hate me, but—"

"That's the problem," he cut her off, "I don't hate you. I _can't_."

His chest was imbued in pain, a crushing weight atop of it.

"I am Annabeth, Percy. More than you would think. All her memories, they are mine. All her feelings, they are mine."

"No." He shook his head vehemently.

"Listen to her, Percy, please," Luke intervened.

"Stay out of it," the son of Poseidon hissed. "All of you! Stay out of it!"

All his friends backed off.

"You're not Annabeth. You will never be!"

A pained expression flashed on Ann's face. She swallowed drily, then steeled her face. "Right. I don't even know why I'm bothering with a Seaweed Brain like you. I thought I could count on you Percy, that you'd stand by me, no matter what. _As long as we're together._ "

His heart screamed painfully at the sound of her words, his face softening for a second, before morphing into pure rage. "Don't you dare say those words to me! They were hers! You have no right!"

Ann gulped, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. "Then why do I know them?" She sniffed. "Why do I remember every second we spent together like I was there with you?!"

Percy was trying to fight back his own tears, but the image of Chaos killing the real Annabeth fueled his anger. "You aren't Annabeth. She is dead. D E A D," he spelled the word out loud, as tears fell from his eyes. His whole body was shaking.

"Percy, maybe you should, uh, cool down a little," Frank said nervously, but was ignored completely.

"You think I don't remember that? You think I don't remember the pain and terror I felt as Chaos held me up by the neck?! And you know what?" Her voice and words cut through Percy like acid daggers. "It was your face I saw as he was killing me. It was all I could think about and you know what? I'm not sorry that I did, because _I love you_ , Percy, I do, but right now you're acting like a complete idiot!"

For a moment, everyone was frozen. Piper, Leo, Jason, Frank, Hazel and Luke seemed so tense, like they were ready for the other two demigods to snap and kill each other.

Percy clenched his fists and tried not to let his world crumble at the sound of what Ann had just said.

"I wanted you to save me, Percy," she continued with the same acidic tone, "but I'm not stupid. I knew you couldn't. I hoped you would accept me like this," she gestured at herself. "But so far, I was wrong."

Percy knew he would regret his words later, but he still opened his mouth and said them anyway.

"You're not Annabeth, you're just another piece of clay."

Ann gripped Luke's arm for support. She nodded, glanced away, then back at Percy. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, but despite herself, she put on a pained smile. "Alright then, I won't bother you again."

She started to leave, but Percy stopped her. "You can stay here, I don't care, I'll be the one who walks away."

"Percy!"

He heard his friends protest, but except for Ann's face, everything else was a blur, blocked away by the agony in his heart.

She stared at him with her stormy gray eyes and said the words that destroyed Percy completely.

"I love you Seaweed Brain, but remember today, in this place... _you broke my heart_."

_You broke my heart, Percy._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, people, for your patience! I'm sorry you had to wait so long for this chapter, but ta-da, here it is.
> 
> If you are kind enough, please drop a review. They kind of make my day when I read them, so thank you again in anticipation. Also, a huge thanks to everyone who has already reviewed, left kudos, subscribed and bookmarked!
> 
> Hopefully, the next chapter will come a lot sooner than this one.


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